Rising Dawn (Willy Wonka X OC)

All Wounds Bleed the Same (Part 1)

Despite the gigantic walls surrounding the factory and unusual form of transportation we now use, people still found out about my family moving into the factory. Charlie's been all over the news, having won the game, and people went crazy when they saw pictures of my family being transported to the factory via elevator. The world has been in uproar with rumors flying about having to do with the factory reopening for good and Will abducting strangers and Will performing actual miracles. None of which are true.

Once the four losing children left, they were interviewed by almost every journalist and news anchor in the world. While they enjoyed their steadily increasing popularity, Will's popularity went through a series of fluctuations. At first, he was heavily berated for leaving the children in such states, and accusations of trying to harm the children were tossed around for a while. That is, until someone finally thought to ask the kids why they ended up drenched in chocolate, blue, covered in trash, and tall as a giraffe. Then people started realizing it was the children's fault, and that the chocolatier was not to blame.

Some people had lingering suspicion, as was continuously enforced by the four newly famous children, that Will invented the game with malicious intent. This is understandable given that no one but my family knows that he created the game because he was under the impression that he needed an heir. Despite those few doubters, a majority of people began to look at the one and only "Willy Wonka" in a whole new light. The four children hadn't been sworn to secrecy about what they saw in the factory, so they described it all in great detail. I had asked Will if this worried him, but he said it didn't, and that he would like to see another candy maker try and copy him because it would never work without his blueprints.

For the first time in a decade, people got an idea of what goes on behind those closed gates. They praised Will for his genius, enhanced by the four losing children who had no concept of how anything worked and whose explanations made the things they saw all the more impossible.

But there was something else that remained glaringly uncertain in the minds of the public. What happened to Charlie and why were there unidentified people let into the factory? Will had warned me he would have to issue a public statement eventually, explaining everything from the reason for the competition, to his new apprentice, to his apprentice's family living in the factory. I didn't know the time for him to do it would come so soon, but we realised it was necessary after we returned from Wilbur's house and were met with a squad of five distraught Oompa Loompas.

They took hold of Will's hand and started pulling him down a sidehall that had doors lining the walls. Charlie and I followed, trying to match their pace, all the while constantly asking questions about their hurry, but never getting a response from the Oompa Loompas.

"Will, what's wrong? Where are we going?" I ask, out of breath and clutching his sleeve doggedly. I just caught up to him and Charlie is still running behind us.

Will shakes his head, wearing an expression that's just as confused as mine. "I don't know, Dove. The little buggers refused to tell me, but it seems as if we are on our way to either the Tedddy Bear Marshmallow Room or the Puppet Hospital and Burn Center. I can't think of a reason we'd be going to either room though."

A group of Oompa Loompas runs up from behind us and flows around like a stampede, causing me to lose my hold on Will's arm. They surge forward, seemingly in a hurry to get to wherever the Oompa Loompas are taking us. The pounding of feet fills my ears, and I force my heart to beat steadily. I am eventually pushed back to where Charlie is struggling not to be dragged under by the swarm of Oompa Loompas. The pack eventually thins, and I finally see our destination, the Puppet Hospital and Burn Center. Why are they taking us there?

I get my answer when I see a cot surrounded by at least three dozen Oompa Loompas who propell Will forward to see the single Oompa Loompa lying limp at the center of everything. He's got a sizeable bruise around his eye and a few minor ones on his arms. There's a strip of clean white gauze wrapped around his head, and a few Oompa Loompas in white uniforms continue to fuss about him. Charlie and I stand on the edge of the fray, not daring to get involved. Will rushes forward protectively, and I see him transition from goofy and friendly to commanding and prepotent in less than two seconds. His jaw clenches and his face hardens, I see his spine straighten and his hands tighten into fists. It reminds me that he isn't just a creative man with some little helpers, Will is the real-life Prince of Chocolate with hundreds of subjects that he genuinely cares for.