Madame Azalea hurriedly walks inside her breakfast room. She throws the cigarette into the trash can and approaches Gustavo. Gustavo himself tries to stand up although of every inch of his body aches.
"Oh dear." She mumbles. "Don't move. I'll get my first aid box."
"No." His voice is hoarse, so he coughs to clear his throat. "No. I have to-"
"Everyone knows what you're going to do. Now, do you think you can run after her with all this wounds?" And without waiting for Gustavo's respond, Madame Azalea walks away.
"I'm really sorry for the inconvinience. But I think," Madame Azalea sighs. "I think breakfast is over." And she walks toward her room.
Gustavo watches the guests walk away in silence as he examines his wounds. Madame Azalea comes back with a box and some bottles. She opens it and immediately sits down in front of Gustavo.
She pours down the alcohol into the cotton ball and starts with his head first. He growls when the cotton touches his wounds; it's cold when it touches his skin but it feels like burning inside his head. He closes his eyes and lets Madame Azalea does her work.
It takes approximately 15 minutes for Madame Azalea finishes her "work". All the wounds have been steriled, cured, and bandaged. He's no longer covered in blood. She takes a cup of water and gives it to him. And greedily, he drinks it in one big gulp.
"Would you please tell me what's going on? They threat and harm my guests!" She says when Gustavo has calmed down.
"I've been very close to her for the past few months. But she's not a human. She's made of wood. So there's a guy who kidnapped her and tried to sell her into a circus for freak people." He sighs. "I have no idea who that guy is, and I need to find out. I have to know where they're going."
"Do you think he means it when he says we're dead if we call police? Do you think we can call police?"
Gustavo suddenly remembers Officer Paul and shakes his head. "No. We can't. Imagine how their reaction would be if they know I'm chasing an imaginary friend." He says, mimics what Officer Paul said.
"Well, I don't think she's imaginary."
"I know. You're different."
Suddenly, Gustavo sits up straight. He frowns and growls as he hurts his arms with sudden moves. "I know where to go." He stands up and starts walking.
"Where are you going?" Madame Azalea asks.
"To find my friend. She's sent to a dorm a few miles from here."
"Aw. You consider me as your friends." Madame Azalea stands up. She suddenly feels flattered. She takes another cigarette and turns it on.
"What do you mean?" Gustavo frowns.
"Isn't it obvious enough?" She chuckles and sips her cigarette. "It's me, Bailey Florence."
***
Penelope stays silence. She knows her effort to escape will be futile, especially when she can't see, talk, or move freely.
It's all black until someone takes away the blindfold from her eyes. It's the man with spiky hair and doctor coat. He takes the duct tape away from her mouth harshly. Luckily enough, it's not real skin that the duct tape touches.
She realizes that her wrists are tied behind with a rope and her ankles are tied, attached to her thighs. She looks exactly like a model from porn magazine on bdsm column.
The spiky man chuckles and touches her chin. She sees a name embroidered on his front pocket, "Damien Mort, P.hD".
"Wait here, baby." He says as he leaves. He walks to a door and gone right after he closes the door.
It's silent afterward. She looks around and observe things. The room is almost dark with only a few dim lamps. The rooms looks like a basement with no furnitures inside and one exit only. It looks, depressing.
She sighs and waits for her destiny.
***
"What do you mean you're Bailey Florence? And how do you know her name?" Gustavo frowns as he turns around and walks toward Madame Azalea.
She laughs. "Oh, don't be like that. Don't you think it's weird I suddenly lend you clothes?"
"I thought you're just being nice." Gustavo chuckles and shakes his head. "This is impossible. How can you grow up so fast from a kid to a grown-up woman?"
"Well, one thing, I'm a fairy. Secondly-"
"You're a what?"
"Hushh.. I'm not done speaking." She inhales her cigarette smoke. "Secondly, I can change my form into anyone I want to, although it takes a lot of my energy to do it."
He shakes his head, still can't believe what's just happened.
"I can't believe it. But, what about your grandmother?"
"She is my grandmother and she did send me to a dorm school, but I escaped. I knew I'd find you."
She smiles brightly as if she were a little kid again. And that moment, Gustavo believes that she really is Bailey Florence.
"The most important thing, I can help you. But we have to hurry!"
***
Half an hour feels like forever to Penelope right now. She leans back on the cold wall behind her and closes her eyes. She's hungry and tired but she can't fall asleep because she realizes she has to be aware every miliseconds she's tied up.
Suddenly, someone opens the door, startling Penelope and sending shivers to her spine. It's one of the builder. He approaches her and picks her up easily as if she were an empty burlap sack.
She gasps but the builder immediately fixes her position so it would be more convinient to her. With her head behind his back, they walk through the door.
The light from outside the door invades her eyes. She closes them and lets her eyes adapt to the extra light. Once she's comfortable enough with the light, she realizes even the staircase seems depressing.
They walk into another door that leads to an even brighter room. The builder puts her down onto the bed at the center of the room. In front of her, lies a huge mirror attached onto the wall.
The builder cuts out her ropes slowly. She looks around and realizes the whole room looks like a laboratorium, except that the equipments are all put in the trays.
"I'm sorry for you." The builder says to her, bringing her back to reality, and he walks out the room. Instanyl, Penelope knows she's in trouble.
YOU ARE READING
Pinocchio
Fantasy"She's just a piece of wood" "He's just an ordinary woodcarver" And then, they met
