⇗ Chapter 6

Sabine jostled around and hit her head on something, then opened her eyes wearily. She looked around the cramped space she was in, but couldn't see much. Another bump tossed her slightly up in the air, and she hit her head again.

"Ouch," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead gently.

"Sabine?" someone whispered.

"Yeah," Sabine said tiredly.

"Are you okay?" the person asked.

"I can't see, and my head hurts, but I think I'm okay otherwise," Sabine said, trying to sit up in the darkness. She hit her head again and winced. "Where are we?"

"The trunk of Olaf's car," another voice said. It took her a moment to place the voices as Duncan and Isadora. Suddenly, she remembered what had happened to put her in this situation.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked with a frightened gasp.

"We're fine," Isadora whispered.

"A little powdery from those old ladies though," Duncan said with a small chuckle.

"What about the Baudelaires?" Sabine questioned further as the car hit a rock or something and bumped the three children around again. Duncan and Isadora kept silent.

"What about the Baudelaires?" Sabine repeated, panic seeping into her voice.

"We.... we don't know," Duncan said quietly.

"They tried to help us, they really did," Isadora explained sadly.

"One of the old ladies bit Klaus on the hand," Duncan shuddered in disgust.

"He looked really grossed out," Isadora added. "But he still tried to save us..." Her voice broke, and in the dim light that seeped in through the holes in the trunk, Sabine could see that Isadora looked like she was about to cry. "H-he only stopped because Olaf kicked him in the stomach..."

"Oh..." Sabine didn't know what to say. She was glad that their friends had tried to help, yet upset that they'd gotten hurt in the process. She knew Isadora was feeling the same, probably tenfold because of her crush on Klaus. She reached out to try and give her hand a squeeze, but then the car bumped around again and all three children hit their heads on something.

"Is he trying to hit every pothole?" Sabine whined, rubbing her sore forehead again.

"What do you expect from a lunatic like him?" Duncan asked rhetorically.

Sabine nodded even though she knew Duncan probably couldn't see her very well, and the car came to an abrupt halt. The children were slammed against the walls of the trunk and groaned in pain yet again. They heard the click-clack of high heels walking towards them and they all froze in fear.

"Who's-" Sabine started, but was immediately shushed by Duncan's hand slamming over her mouth. She took that as a cue to shut up and tightly pressed her lips together. The trunk flew open and the small, cramped space was filled with more darkness. The horrified children could see the faint outline of a woman in a suit and tried their best not to move.

"Oh, they're perfect, Olaf!" the woman shrieked in a British accent.

"I told you, please, my name is Gunther," Olaf said in a strange accent as he stepped into view of the children. He was wearing a suit that was almost identical to the woman's, and had his hair, now dyed silver, pulled back into a tight ponytail. Dark sunglasses covered his greedy eyes, but Sabine shivered in fear anyways as she felt him watching her.

The woman gasped and pointed a polished fingernail at Sabine. "Is that the Trillian girl?" she asked slowly.

"It is indeed, pretty lady Emsé," Gunther nodded.

"Finally, the sugar bowl is mine!" the woman, Esmé, exclaimed, then laughed maniacally. Sabine tried to crawl farther into the darkness, but was snatched by Esmé and dragged out of the trunk. She couldn't help the terrified squeak that escaped her lips as Esmé's long fingernails dug into her shoulders.

"Well, let's have a look at you," Esmé purred menacingly. She walked in a slow circle around Sabine, her sharp nails scraping across Sabine's skin.

She shivered as a cold chill ran through her whole body. She felt like she had bugs crawling all over her arms, so she shook them in an attempt to make the sensation go away. She looked down at herself and realized with disgust that there actually were bugs on her arms, probably from the disgusting trunk of the car.

"Ew, ew, ew!" she shrieked, wiping bunches of tiny spiders and beetles off of her arms while shaking in revulsion.

"Ugh, she has insects on her!" Esmé suddenly stepped away from Sabine as if she were a deadly disease.

Sabine bounced from foot to foot and shook her arms nervously, trying to get the feeling of the bugs off of her.

"And those clothes are simply horrendous!" Esmé gagged, looking away from Sabine and to Gunther.

"You won't see her much, pretty lady," Gunther said with a fake smile.

"Right." Esmé nodded, then clapped her hands in a bossy manner. "Take them away."

Olaf's troupe grabbed the Quagmires and Sabine, then carried them to a dark alleyway. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! Sabine thought. She pictured hitting the man holding her, dropping to the ground, and running for her life, but she couldn't force herself to move. She felt even more terrified than she had that day the tornado struck her school, but this time, Quigley was not there to comfort her. She felt hot tears well in her eyes, but blinked them away, determined not to give these awful people the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

The giant who had slung her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes suddenly put her down on the ground. She started to sprint away, but was caught the second she planted her foot on the pavement.

"You're not going anywhere," the man said. She froze again as he shoved her down a trap door in the alley. The Quagmires were soon shoved with her, and they were forced by Olaf's associates into a shaft that was empty except for a small cage.

"Go, in the cage," one of the white-faced women ordered. The hook handed man opened the cage door, and the three children were pushed inside. They landed on the ground with a thump and backed away from the scary people as they closed and locked the cage door.

"Bye bye," one white faced woman said.

"Try not to die," the other chorused.

Sabine shivered yet again and waited for Olaf's troupe to leave before she broke down in sobs. Isadora and Duncan tried to comfort her, but she pushed them away and curled up in one of the corners of the cage. She cried and cried for hours. She cried for Quigley, and for the Baudelaires, and for her parents, and for her sister, and for herself. She let the tears fall as she cried for everyone she knew until there were no more tears left.

Once she was finally finished bawling, she sat and gently rocked herself back and forth. She was silent and focused on the newspapers that littered the floor of the cage. She searched all the headlines with her eyes and let out a shaky breath when she found a familiar one.

WORLD RENOWNED CARTOGRAPHER PERISHED IN FIRE

Sabine couldn't bear to look at the rest of the article. She knew it was about her father, and she didn't want to cry again. She sniffled and wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her wool sweater. She was cold and tired and hungry, but most of all, she wanted to not be locked in a cage.

She heard the sniffles of Duncan and Isadora and turned in their direction. They were huddled together, crying just as she had been. Isadora's shoulders were shaking violently as heavy sobs racked her body. Sabine felt bad and crawled over to her friends. She wrapped her arm around Isadora's shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. Isadora leaned onto her and cried a little more.

"Shh, it's okay, Izzie," Sabine whispered. Isadora nodded and wiped her tears away.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Duncan asked.

Sabine sighed and looked around. "Well, if we can unlock the cage, we can get out through that tunnel they led us in."

"It's probably guarded," Isadora said quietly.

"And we aren't armed," Duncan sighed.

Sabine gestured vaguely to the newspapers on the ground. "Paper cuts hurt?" she suggested, but sounded unsure of herself.

Duncan snorted and shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah. So do actual knives. Which is most likely what they have."

Sabine nodded and fiddled with her hair. "Well, one step at a time. How do we unlock the cage?"

"A key?" Duncan shrugged.

"That would be helpful, but we don't have a key," Sabine said patiently. "Anyone got a lock pick?"

Isadora reached into her hair and pulled out a bobby-pin. "Will this work?" she asked, handing the pin to Sabine.

Sabine gasped excitedly and took it from her. "Yes! You are a lifesaver, Isa." She crawled over to the door of the cage and straightened the pin out in her mouth, then stuck her arm through the bar and felt around until she found the lock. She stuck the bobby-pin inside it and moved it around until she heard the satisfying click and thud of the lock opening and falling to the floor.

"It worked!" Sabine breathed. She slowly opened the cage door and let out a sigh of relief when it didn't squeak, revealing that she had managed to get out.

"Okay. I'll go check out the tunnel and then I'll get you guys if it's all clear, okay?" Sabine said.

"We shouldn't split up," Isadora said worriedly. "That's how everyone dies in horror movies!"

Duncan patted her head comfortingly. "This isn't a horror movie, Iz."

"It might as well be," mumbled Isadora.

"I'll be fine. Here, take this in case they lock the cage again." Sabine handed the bent bobby-pin to Isadora. Isadora sighed and reluctantly took her pin back.

"Be safe," Duncan whispered as Sabine crawled out of the cage and stood up.

"I will," she replied quietly. "Stay here." Sabine closed the door and put the lock back on in a way that made it look like the cage was still locked shut when it was really wide open.

She crept around in the shaft until she found the hatch to the tunnel that they had come in. She lifted it as silently as possible and lowered herself down the ladder. When she dropped on the dusty ground, her sneakers squeaked loudly and she froze, then waited and listened. No one came to get her, so she tip-toed down the tunnel, wanting to make sure she could get all the way out before going back for the Quagmires.

About halfway down the long, twisting path, she heard quiet footsteps behind her. She froze again, unsure of what to do, then cautiously peered over her shoulder. She sighed in relief and frustration when she was met with a familiar face.

"S-Sabine?" the boy stammered, stepping back in shock.

"Duncan, I told you to..." she paused, then took in his appearance. Long, messy hair, unlike Duncan's short, neat hair. He looked thin and malnourished, his clothes dirty and ripped, but identical to Duncan in every other way. She gasped and stepped closer to him.

"Quigley?" she whispered.

He nodded and gulped. Her breath caught in her chest and tears fell down her cheeks as she rushed to him and flung herself into his open arms. He held her fiercely and they both sobbed quietly.

"I... We thought...." Sabine stammered, pulling away slightly to look into his dark eyes. "How are you alive?"

He smiled sadly. "These tunnels. My mom put me in here when the house caught on fire."

Sabine ran her fingers through his hair, carefully smoothing out all the tangles as she talked. "How long have you been down here?"

He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her waist. "A few weeks. I thought I heard something over here and came to check it out." He smiled and breathed out a happy sigh. "I'm glad I did."

Sabine giggled despite the circumstances and smiled back.

"Are Duncan and Isadora with you?" Quigley asked, suddenly turning very serious and concerned.

"Yeah. Well, not in the tunnels, but they're..." Sabine trailed off and pulled away from him completely. "Oh shoot," she mumbled, then took off running back to the hatch.

Quigley followed and grabbed her hand just as she started to climb up the ladder. "Sabine? What's wrong?"

"I-I left them up there! I was just gonna see if we could get out through these tunnels but then I saw you and got distracted and they're up there all alone!" she explained quickly.

"Okay, shh, calm down. You gotta breathe, Sabine," he whispered.

She took in a deep breath and tried again, slower this time. "Duncan and Isadora are up there and we need to get to them."

Quigley nodded calmly, but his eyes were bright and excited. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing to the ladder with a small grin.

She rolled her eyes, looking away from him to try and hide her blush. Then she climbed hand over hand up to the hatch. When she made it to the top, she pushed on it firmly.

It didn't budge.

She pushed again as hard as she could. Nothing except for the dust on the bottom of the hatch moved.

"I can't open it," she called down to Quigley who was waiting at the bottom of the ladder for her.

"Climb down and let me try," he said. She did as she was told and then watched as he climbed up to the hatch and pushed on it. Quigley let out a groan of frustration. "It won't move!"

"Maybe if we both pushed at the same time it would help?" Sabine suggested.

He nodded. "Yeah, climb up here."

She climbed back up the ladder and somehow managed to squeeze in next to him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I think so," Sabine said.

"Push on three," he instructed.

"One." They put their hands on the hatch.

"Two." Sabine steadied herself on the ladder.

"Three!" They both pushed the hatch up, using all the strength they had. Sabine's shoulder burned from being exerted so much, but she kept pushing at the small door. It didn't move an inch.

"Harder!" she said.

They pushed more, but Sabine cried out in pain after only a few moments when her shoulder popped. She lost her balance and started to fall. The ladder was about ten feet off the ground, and she caught one of the rungs just before she hit the dusty floor.

"Sabine!" Quigley called in concern.

She whimpered and let go of the rung, then dropped the short distance to the cold concrete ground. She stumbled to find her footing, but tripped and landed painfully on her back. The air left her lungs and it was all she could do to sit up and squish her back against the wall. Quigley scrambled down the ladder and rushed over to Sabine. He kneeled in front of her and brushed her dreads behind her ears.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She was silent, trying hard to catch her breath again after having the wind knocked out of her. Her chest heaved as she desperately tried to take in air, but every movement jostled her shoulder and sent pain shooting through her body. Finally she was able to breathe again and she inhaled as much as she could of the dusty air, then coughed it out.

"What happened?" Quigley whispered. He gingerly cupped her cheek, as if he was afraid she might break.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder," she said through hissing breaths.

"Can I see?"

She nodded, and he carefully removed her jacket. His face twisted into a grimace as his eyes landed on her hurt shoulder.

"Does it look bad?" she whimpered.

"Uh... Well, I can definitely tell it's out of place..." His eyes caught hers. "I can try to pop it back in, but it's gonna hurt."

Sabine grimaced, too. "Do you know how to pop a dislocated shoulder back in?"

Quigley scratched the back of his neck. "Um... I mean, I took a first aid course in school?"

She shook her head. "That's not very comforting, Quigs."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "But it might be our best bet right now."

Sabine thought about it for a moment. As much as she'd missed Quigley, and as happy as she was to find him alive and well, she didn't exactly trust his knowledge of dislocated shoulders and how to fix them. But, he was right. Him helping her was her best bet, and they needed to get out of these tunnels as soon as they could to save Duncan and Isadora.

"Fine," she said finally. "But if you make it worse, I'm suing."

Quigley laughed, cupping her cheek again. He held her gaze, his eyes sparkling and his lips curling into that signature Quigley smirk. "God, I've missed you so much, Sabine."

She smiled back, leaning into the palm of his hand. "I've missed you, too... I have so much to tell you, but we can catch up later. We really need to get a move on."

He nodded, turning serious again when he caught another glimpse of her shoulder. "Alright... This is gonna hurt a lot, I know that much... Sorry in advance..." Gently, he grabbed her shoulder and arm, and already she was wincing. He stretched her arm out a little bit, whispering to her that he was trying to gauge how bad it was, before he pressed hard on her shoulder, popping it back into place with an audible crack!

Sabine screeched, her shoulder burning worse than it had before. He was right, it did hurt, a lot. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her hand darting out to grab Quigley's arm and dig her nails into his skin. She heard him wince, but she didn't care, because she was so mad at him and in so much pain that she couldn't focus on anything but how much her shoulder hurt.

"I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I know that hurt, but it was the only way to fix it." He cupped her face once more, leaning his forehead against hers. They stayed that way until the pain dissipated enough for her to let go of his arm. "Can you move your arm, Sabine?"

Leaning away from him, she held her breath and carefully rolled her shoulder. When it moved smoothly, she released the breath and slumped against the wall. "I think it's fine," she said quietly.

"Good. Can you walk?" he asked.

Sabine shook her head. "I might need a minute for that."

He nodded and sat next to her, then pulled her in between his legs like he did in the tornado shelter. Sabine felt herself blush and was glad for the dim lighting. He gently rubbed her sore shoulder, which took some of the stiffness away.

"Thank you," she mumbled softly. "I won't be suing."

He chuckled and pressed his cheek against hers. "Good, 'cause I'm flat broke."

Sabine giggled, leaning into him and closing her eyes. She was so tired, and wanted so badly to just fall asleep in his arms. But, they had more important things to worry about. "How did you get here?" she asked. "Where even is here?"

Quigley took a deep breath. "I don't know where we are. I just know I started walking a couple days ago and then I heard you and now I'm here."

"We came in from there," she said, pointing left down the tunnel. "Olaf kidnapped us."

"Who?" he asked.

"Oh, it's kind of a long story," she said, then explained everything that had happened since Duncan and Isadora showed up at Prufrock. He seemed more upset that she was by the end of the story, and she shifted uncomfortably in between his legs.

"No, don't leave," he whined, wrapping both of his arms around her waist.

"I was just moving, silly," she giggled.

He sighed. "Duncan seriously yelled at you?"

"Well, he was mad and worried about Izzie." Sabine shrugged.

"Still..." Quigley mumbled, burying his face in her neck.

They held each other tightly for a while in silence. Finally, Quigley whispered, "Can you walk now?"

"I think so." Sabine nodded, cautiously getting to her feet. Quigley hurriedly stood up and held his hand out to her, which she took gratefully.

He pulled her off of the ground and then they both gazed into each other's eyes in a comfortable silence. Sabine felt the odd safety again. His eyes seemed to be searching her soul as they thoroughly hypnotized her. His hands moved to her waist and pulled her closer to him, and his touch made her cheeks heat up in a dark red blush, causing Quigley to smirk. The blush spread to her ears and neck, and she couldn't help but smile at him. He chuckled quietly and smiled back, a sincere, heart melting smile.

Sabine finally snapped into reality. She broke their gaze and shook her head, then slowly and reluctantly stepped away from him. "How do we get to Duncan and Isadora?" she asked.

Quigley snapped out of his trance as well. "I don't know. Surely there's another entrance," he said, looking around for any more of the dusty hatches.

He and Sabine scanned the walls and floors, and Sabine noticed a sign on the wall that caught her attention. She cautiously stepped up to the soot covered plate and squinted to make out the word. Finally, she took her sleeve and put it up to the sign, gently rubbing away all the dirt. Once it was cleared, she gasped quietly and took a step back in shock.

The sign was shaped like an arrow and pointed right down the dark hallway. It had one word on it in big, bold letters; TRILLIAN

𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣