A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Forgotten File [Book the Fifteenth]

Chapter 12

Duncan Quagmire

The dark, musty passageway enclosed us as we ran swiftly, eyes straight ahead. The light emitted from our flashlights bounced along the walls of the tunnel, making our shadows dance in the dark. It was eerie, and it was already a long time since we've used this tunnel before, yet none of us had any absolute care in the world.

Nothing really did matter if your family was in danger. We've lost our parents already. We were not ready to lose more Quagmire or Baudelaire blood. It was too much to handle.

My right hand quickly grasped my pants' pockets, checking if the harpoon gun was still there. It was the same bloody gun that Count Olaf used to kill Jacques Snicket and Dewey Denouement, and the same one that destroyed my commonplace book, along with Isadora's. Little did Count Olaf knew that his gun would be the same gun that would kill him.

My shoulders shivered as I touched the harpoon gun. I didn't know why I brought the treacherous thing. I didn't know why I grabbed it from one of the desks that hid V.F.D. secrets before following the others. I didn't know why, but it felt like I needed to bring it with me.

As my thoughts engulfed me, I didn't realize that we were in that certain sliding tunnel that leads us directly to the Valley of the Four Drafts. So when I stepped on absolutely nothing, I gave a sudden cry of surprise.

"Crap, I didn't see that!" I muttered loudly as we slid down the tunnel, with Sunny and Beatrice shouting and laughing at the same time.

"Language, Duncan." Klaus warned and I gave a little shrug before falling flat onto the ground, with Beatrice hitting me on the waist with her elbow. Ouch.

"Sorry." Beatrice said meekly and I sighed before rumpling her hair.

Helping her get on her feet, all of us stood up, removing the dust particles that clung on our clothes.

"This is ridiculous. We don't even know where that Travis Olaf lives." I told them as removed pieces of grass from Beatrice's hair.

"Actually... we do." Violet said, her voice trailing off as she stared into space.

Looking to where she was looking, I realized that she was right. Below the cliff where we were standing, a little close to the waterfalls -- was a little house.

I glanced at Quigley who put his hand around Violet's shoulders. "Hey," he mumbled into her ear and I smirked knowingly. "Remember that time in the waterfalls?"

The corners of Violet's lips tugged upwards and me and Klaus instantly burst into laughter, making Quigley grin and Violet blush.

"Quit it, you two." Violet snapped, trying her absolute best to be serious. But she can't and a small smile stayed in her lips.

"I remember being busy about that Verbal Fridge Dialogue, whilst the two of you were already hitting it while saving Sunny." Klaus remarked and Quigley laughed, while Sunny and Beatrice glanced at each other with knowing looks.

After giving a few more glances at the waterfalls, Violet nodded and said, "Let's go," And then we ran again, our shoes crunching through the fallen leaves.

~*~

We scattered quietly around the grounds near the little house, being as absolutely quiet as mimes. Everything was so eerie and silent that all I could do to stop the nervousness crawling in my stomach, was to hold the harpoon gun lightly in my fingers.

Its cold metal grasped in my thin fingers, I drew a sharp breath when I heard muffled voices from somewhere below.

"Klaus," I whispered quietly to him, who walked up to me with a grimly-looking face behind those eyeglasses. "I'm hearing muffled voices." I told him and crouched on the dirty ground, getting my clothes dirty and wrinkled from the dirt and grass.

Klaus then strained his ears and slowly crouched beside me.

"Do you think they received the code?" A female voice asked, resulting to me and Klaus to glance at one another.

"Vivian? Is that you?" Klaus asked loudly, his eyebrows knitting together.

The whole place fell into another eerie solitude again, when suddenly a small pebble was thrown out of nowhere. I picked up the little pebble to examine it. And to our surprise, the words "Uncle Klaus?" was engraved on the pebble with light, scrawny scribbles and strokes.

"Uncle Klaus, uncle Duncan." Someone whispered from our left side. But there was nothing there except a small hole in a cemented wall.

"Vivian? Klara? Quill? Is that you? Laura, Klad?!" We asked frantically, catching the attention of the others as we crouched on the small hole. Violet and Isadora hurriedly went to where we were looking and fumbled around the ground until we heard Quigley shout.

"There's a trapdoor!" He yelled as he helped Isadora pulled the heavy, wooden trapdoor to open it.

"Mom!" We heard Laura cry with happiness as the kids stumbled out from the trapdoor's underground cell, the light reflecting on each of their tired faces. They had undergone much trouble already, and everyone was crying in puremost relief as we huddled all together.

"Oh, I didn't know there was a family reunion that I was missing." A familiar, cold voice commented. I need not to turn my back to know that it was the devilish offspring of Count Olaf. His voice sounded menacing, just like his father.

Not really putting though into my actions anymore, I firmly grasped his father's harpoon gun in my hand, breathing heavily as I felt him walk towards us with slow, teasing steps, as if he was threatening us.

I saw Klaus and Quigley shooting daggers at him. If looks could kill, he would have been probably dead by now. I could also see the profound scared faces of Violet and Isadora underneath their strong facades of visages. These were the times where I admire all of them the most.

But sometimes, a Duncan Quagmire like me has to do what he needs to do to protect those important to him.

And without further ado, I swiftly turned around and pointed the harpoon gun at Travis Olaf with shaking hands, beads of sweat dropping down from my forehead as my heart raced like there was no tomorrow.

I was confident that the same gun that killed his father would end him as well, but as soon as I was about to pull the trigger of the harpoon gun with my shaking fingers; he suddenly kicked me in the stomach, making me plunge backwards on the ground as he grabbed the evil harpoon gun from my hands.

He then pointed the gun at me, and somehow I saw flashes of my whole life before me. Now I know how Dewey Denouement felt right before the harpoon gun dropped on the floor of Hotel Denouement, killing him right then and there.

And as the ear-splitting sound of the triggered harpoon gun shot through the thin, fragile air, darkness suddenly caved me in.

~*~

Finally, after two to three months of not updating, here's the penultimate peril, my volunteers!