The day after the boat was finished, they packed all they thought they would need. Soon after, every single person that was on the island was putting their faith in the boat they were standing in.

     It had been days since they had last seen land. Everyone was desolate, a fancy word that which here means "Desperate," to reach the shores of either the mainland or an island. Even another sign of life would have brought joy into the hearts of crew. Soon enough, they got their wish- but it had the opposite effect.

     They had been on the boat for about four days now, and it was about six o'clock in the morning. Fiona, Sunny, and Duncan were keeping watch, while the others were struggling to stay awake for five minutes at a time. All of a sudden, though, all of them (except for Beatrice) were awoken like that.

     For there, standing (Or floating) in front of them, was the giant question mark that the Baudelaires had never thought of, or hoped of, seeing again.

     "What is that?" Friday asked. She and the other islanders were the only ones still calm. The Baudelaires were clinging onto each other, as were the Quagmires. Captain Widdershins and Fiona were silent.

     "Well, would you look at that!" Phil said, "There's that huge question mark that everyone keeps talking about! Wow, I finally get to meet the people that helped you get to the island!" He beamed, not noticing how terrified almost everyone else was.

     All of a sudden, the Baudelaires saw a figure emerge from the top of the punctuation sign commonly used at the end of questions- and, like seeing the question mark, the person emerging from the top was not a good omen.

     For there, standing on a raised platform, stood the city's sixth most important financial advisor, who seemed to have kept with the trends, even though she was aboard a ship. She spoke, and she seemed to be yelling, but everyone on the boat had to strain to hear what she said.

     "Come aboard and nobody gets hurt!" Esme shouted. She seemed to be holding a weapon in her right hand and something else in her left. All of a sudden, the islanders and Phil were rowing towards the boat, without so much as a second warning.

     "Wait!" Violet cried, but they just kept on rowing. All of a sudden, a rope was lowered down, and the islanders (and Phil) began to climb it. After they were safely on the question marked shaped boat, the rest of the crew hesitated. Even Captain Widdershins, whose personal motto was "He (Or she) who hesitates is lost," hesitated.

     Then Duncan put on a straight face and began to climb the ladder. Just seconds later, his siblings joined him. Out of nowhere, Fiona and Captain Widdershins climbed up as well. The only people still on the boat were the Baudelaires.

     "Come on up, Baudelaires," Esme purred, "Besides, where can you possibly go? You're lost, and your friends have joined me- don't you want to be with them?

     "Though you try to hide some of your most sensitive emotions, all of you fail to fully conceal them," Esme said, smiling wickedly, "And sometimes emotions are all you need to bring everything in someones world down. I can tell, for example, Violet, how much you care for Quigley. That could be used by simply threatening Quigley," She stood behind Quigley, who seemed frozen, and placed a one hand on his shoulder, the other hand brandishing something at Isadora's neck.

     "Klaus..." Esme trailed off, "It is evident that you care for two women in your life... romantically, perhaps? What if I made you... choose which girl to love and which one I should kill? And heaven forbid, all of you, that I manage to get Beatrice away from you? Who knows what I would do? My impatience seems to have deteriorated my feelings for other human beings, especially orphaned children, such as yourselves."

     The Baudelaire siblings could see that she truly meant it. That she would do anything to get her way. Even if it meant murdering person after person. The three siblings grudgingly handed Beatrice to Isadora, and began to climb the ladder up to the platform.

     The Baudelaires then realized Esme had been holding, not a weapon, but a megaphone, and her other hand, I'm sorry to say, held a harpoon gun, which was still pointed at Isadora.

     "Where did you get that?" Klaus asked frantically, pointing at the harpoon gun.

     "Why, dearest Ernest gave it to me," Esme smiled wickedly, "Just before the hotel collapsed. He had a spare," she began to laugh, then cackle, and then, gasping for breath, called two names that the Baudelaires had never hoped to hear of again.

     "Hooky! Carmelita! Come here!" She said, still shrieking and shaking from laughing so hard.

     They heard Carmelita and Fernald's voices long before they saw them. But when they saw them, oh what a sight it was! (Or at least, what a sight Carmelita was.)

     Carmelita, it appeared had not "Grown out of" Her tomboy phase, as Geraldine Juliette had suggested- Instead, she seemed to have grown into it. She wore a policeman's cap, (Which Klaus recognized from when Esme posed as Officer Luciana) large firefighter boots, a hazmat suit mask (Just the mask- for reasons unknown) a pair of brown khakis and a colorful Hawaiian shirt and Lei, and lastly a lab coat.

     After about thirty second of staring at her strange and ridiculous outfit, the young girl demanded,

    "What are you staring at, you cakesniffers? This is normal! I'm a police officer firefighter health advisor surfer scientist!"

     "Of course you are, darling!" Esme reassured her. "Now, Hooky! Do you have something to say to this old man and your sister?" She asked, jerking her head to Captain Widdershins and Fiona.

     "Yes. Yes I do, Miss Esme," He spoke, glaring at his stepfather. His voice had become raspy, and it sounded, if possible, even more evil. All of a sudden, he took a threatening step towards Captain Widdershins, and, pushed him off the question mark shaped ship.