Laura Baudelaire

"How come he knows us? Wake up!" Klara said, alarmed, and started shaking the guy.

"What the hell Klara!" I shouted and pulled her away from the guy. At the same moment, the guy woke up, startled.

"Holy shiz!" He exclaimed with surpise when he saw us. "Are you. . . the Baudelaires and Quagmires?" He asked and blinked.

"How do you know us? Who are you?! What the hell --" Klad covered Klara's mouth before she can say anything stupid.

"I-I'm a volunteer. . ." He sighed. "And your parents are in deep trouble."

"What trouble?" Quill asked with his eyebrows raised. "And what do you mean you're a volunteer?"

The guy bowed his head and didn't look straight into our eyes. "That's something you should ask your parents about -- not me, I have no rights. But right now, you have to come with m-me. . . your parents have been captured by our enemies and if you won't save them in time, they, will be killed."

He then looked at us, until his eyes landed on me. He had this shiny eyes that looked very familiar -- and mesmerizing. . .

"H-How do we know that we can trust you?" I finally asked.

"Well. . ." His eyes started to wander off. "My parents are comrades with yours. And they're captured as well."

Liar. He looks like his lying, the way his eyes wander off and he couldn't even look straight at us when he's talking. Besides, I don't trust any person we find underneath the passageway of our house.

"Fine." But I said. "We'll go with you." He looked relieved and was about to speak up when I raised the dagger I was still holding and pointed it at his neck.

"But don't do anything stupid." I said threateningly and his eyes widened in surprise. He shook his head before I slowly put down the dagger.

"Your name?" Vivian asked.

"Timothy." The guy said and glanced at me with fear.

"Timothy what? Don't tell me you don't have a last name?" Klara said and rolled his eyes.

Timothy sighed. "Squalor. My name is Timothy Squalor."

~*~

"I don't trust him." Klad said when I went to the kitchen with him.

"Neither do I, but if our parents are really in danger then we better believe him." I said and opened a can of coke before jugging it all up.

"You really frightened him back there."

"I know --"

"And I think he looks so into you." I spitted out the liquid in my mouth to the sink when I heard what Klad said. He laughed heartily and I gave him a glare before wiping my mouth with the coke I have spit.

"Shut up." I said and rolled my eyes before throwing him the half-empty can of coke.

He caught it and drank it up as well. "But seriously, have you seen the way he stared at you? I don't know if he's scared or attracted, or maybe both?"

That's it. I rolled my eyes and left him there in the kitchen. Sometimes I wonder how Klad became my brother in the first place.

I went back to the living room where they were and realize that Timothy was staring at me as I went to them.

"Oh good, Laura's here. Timothy, stay with her and we'll just cook you up some food." Vivian said and pulled Klara.

"W-Wait, where's Quill?" I asked frantically. Why are they leaving me with this guy?!

"Upstairs. He wanted to percieve the moment while our parents are gone and make some handy inventions that we can use in rescuing our parents." Vivian replied and they left the both of us sitting there.

"Hey." He said, trying to make a conversation.

"Hmm." I replied and avoided his gaze. Why was I affected with him anyway? Maybe because I don't trust him? Or the fact that Klad could be actually right?

"Hey, look at me." He said, chuckling. "Am I too handsome for you?"

I looked at him and shot him a death glare.

"You look cute when you're pissed." He laughed and I could feel my face turn red.

"Are you hitting on me?" I asked and rolled my eyes. "Because if you are, I'm sorry, you aren't my type."

He turned quiet and I shook my head before standing up.

I was surprised when he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I landed sitting near him in the sofa. We were so near each other it was suffocating.

"You're just like Aunt Isa." He chuckled and pushed back a strand of my hair behind my ear. He placed his hand on my cheek and I shivered under his touch. He's hand was cold.

" I -- "

"Look who's having a moment here." We looked to see Quill who was looking at us weirdly.

I untangled myself from Timothy and pointed my knife at him. "It was his fault!"

Timothy just looked at me calmly and stared at my eyes.

"Urrghhh!" I shouted frustratingly and stormed out.

~*~

"I hate it. I hate him. He's trying to mess up my mind or something." I said angrily and threw a pillow at the door. I was with Vivian and Klara in my bedroom and I told them everything.

"Sheesh sister." Klara said and shook his head.

"He's nice! Maybe he just really likes you, you know." Vivian defended him.

"Yeah right." I rolled my eyes and there was a knock in the door.

Out peeped the -- urgh -- guy. Timothy.

"Hey, uhh, can I speak with, uhm Laura?" He asked and I gave him a what-do-you- want kind of look.

Klara and Vivian smiled knowingly and went out of the room.

"What do you want Timothy." I sighed and covered my face with a pillow. I heard him close the door behind us.

"I just want to say sorry for what happened earlier. It's just that, you're parents have told me a lot about you and I could say -- you're a very fascinating person." He said and smiled softly.

Sitting beside me, he apologized, "Sorry."

I nodded quietly. "Whatever, as long as you help us save our parents or what." I then ran out of the room with heavy breaths. His presence was suffocating and the tension and awkwardness was high in the room.

~*~

"Okay guys, everybody ready?" Timothy asked and we all nodded. We were about to enter the passageway again; it was time that we were to save our parents.

"Let's go then." Timothy said and we all jumped down the passageway.

We were walking in the dark with only the torches that Quill had made and our shadows were dancing on the walls because of our glowing lights. Everything was creepy and eerie and all we could do was stick together.

"Scared?" He asked teasingly at me. "As if." I replied, my hands gripping my daggers.

We continued walking and walking and walking until we reached a part where the ways have parted.

"Where now?" Klara asked.

"Left." Timothy and Vivian said in chorus.

"How'd you know?" Timothy asked astoundedly.

"Uhm, while you guys were busy preparing, I kind of explored this tunnel half-way and made a map." Vivan said humbly.

"She's got dad's cartography skills." Quil cutted in as Klad pulled out his commonplace book and fountain pen and started writing down notes.

"Wow. That's amazing." Timothy said in awe and we took the left part of the tunnel.

"Our parents are in grave demise,
so we'll rescue them by being wise." Klara recited and Timothy looked at her.

"Yeah. . . she's a poet like our mom." Klad said and shrugged.

We just kept walking in silence again, not until Klad told us to stop.

He started walking in his spot, tapping his foot on the ground. and it made a hollow sound.

"It's hollow -- meaning there's space below. So there's a possibility that there's a room or something down there." Klad observed and went down on his knees.

He removed his bag from his back and pulled out one of dad's magnifying glasses that we found in his drawer -- another one of the secrets our parents are trying to hide from us.

He checked the cracks on the ground. "I read Sherlock Holmes and he encountered one of these in his case called 'The Red-headed League'."

He then stood up and nodded. "Yeah. There's definitely something below us."

"But that's not where our -- " Timothy was cut short.

"We better check it out if we want clues." Vivian agreed with Klad and Timothy sighed.

"Allow me." Quill offered and brought out some tools from his bag.

"Wow. No wonder Aunt Vi doesn't want you to invent, tsk. Those are one of the most dangerous things I've ever seen!" I exclaimed.

"Aunt Vi doesn't want them inventing?! Why?" Timothy asked curiously.

"None of your weeny business Squalor." Quill frowned and said in a huff.

He then used a hammer and a nail to crack the in-betweens of thr ground and finally, after moments of waiting, the ground cracked open. With a final thud, Quill smashed the hammer on the ground and the ground fell off.

"No wonder it was easy breaking off the ground. It's made out of a thin layer of cement and wood." Quill analyzed and we peeked down below.

Right below was a library, a very old-looking antique kind of library.

We went down the room and landed with a thud.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked wondrously.

"We're inside one of the old, scorched V.F.D. headquarters." Timothy said with wonder as he gazed the room.

I looked around the room and saw picture frames hanging on one side of the wall. The pictures were yellowing with old and the faces there were unfamiliar. Except for some.

"IT'S OUR PARENTS!" I shouted and pointed to a young Isadora Quagmire and a young Klaus Baudelaire.

"And ours!" Vivian cried and ran to my side. And indeed right beside them were Uncle Quigley and Aunt Violet. Aunt Sunny, Aunt Beatrice and Uncle Duncan were there too.

"And our grandparents. . ." I whispered and saw Grandpa Bertrand, Grandma Beatrice, Grandpa Quintin and Grandma Katia.

"Why are they here?!" I shouted, trying hard not to cry.

"What's happening? Why are they keeping secrets from us? Are they part of some sort of silly cult?" Klara asked, scared.

Timothy stared at us, quiet in one corner.

"You'll find out soon enough. Right now we have to find our parents." He said sternly with his lips sealed tight in a grim line before he went off and boosted his self up the passageway.

~*~

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR READERS! Sorry I didn't get to update on Christmas day as a present for you guys cuz we were busy with the holidays since my dad's home here in the Philippines (he's an OFW in Saudi) 😊