The Fourth Baudelaire

THE HOSTILE HOSPITAL

Once again, I find myself looking at the early morning sun, as I have done many days when I had to run from my residence to catch a bus or to get away for a crazy person that was bugging me, but as I do, I remember the time from where the Baudelaires and Quagmires did too, but what was different from their situation and mine, is that I knew where I was running to.
The youngsters have been on the road for a while, such a while that the first rays of morning where appearing behind the plain horizon of the Hinterlands. Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, was driving the old firetruck she, her sibling and her friends had stolen from the vile town known as VFD where they were almost burnt at the stake by the villain that, I'm sorry to say, we as well as the children know too well, Count Olaf; and his troupe of treacherous and wicked henchpeople including his latest addition and girlfriend Esmé Squalor.
But as all automobiles, being mechanical devices, they start to run out of gas, and their only chance turns out to be stopping in a store that seemed to say everything one needs to know before going inside. It was the last chance you had, but as the children read "The Last Chance General Store" sign, they felt as if it was referring more to their lives than to a simple name.
"Cuatrimgas!" Sunny exclaimed, which meant something along the lines of "We are out of gas!"
The six children had been in the old firetruck all night, Klaus and Isadora has fallen asleep holding each other but that didn't stop Klaus from keeping a hold of Camille's hand as if to make sure she wasn't going to be taken away from him again. Violet and Duncan had been awake all night long keeping Sunny company so she wouldn't fall asleep, since she is a toddler and they tend to fall asleep in the most random times. Camille on the other side had been on the edge of drifting to sleep but just as she was about to, she would suddenly wake up looking around, clearly suffering of something the people in my line of word and I included often suffer. She was suffering of PTSD which is a shortcut for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a condition in were one, after having experienced a traumatic or very stressful situation you keep feeling stressed or preoccupied and often are not able to fall asleep. But since she was kept in a vigilant state she was the first to notice the "Last Chance General Store" on the side of the road and the first to comment after Sunny.
"There's a store there on the side of the road." Camille commented and shifted in her seat to sit straighter, this action waking up the young couple next to her.
"Yeah, I noticed but we are considered murderers, I doubt they'll help us if they've read the Daily Punctilio." Duncan added as Isadora and Klaus we're finally getting the sleepiness off of them. "And what would we buy? We don't have any money."
"We could try to check a map and see where we can go." Violet commented, but she had a ribbon on her hair which she was trying to think of something that would get them out of this dark circumstances, but as hard as she thought there was nothing able to help the youngsters. "I can't think of anything else." She admitted.
"Well we can't stay in this car forever, one moment or another the police could pass by and capture us." Isadora commented for the first time since the conversation had started.
"Violet's right. That's the best option." Klaus added and with that they all got out of the rusty truck and entered the store. The store was crowded, a word which here means "rows and rows of items were all over it balancing the things on top from falling to the floor and almost without space for one to walk around."
"This store is really crowded." Duncan commented and received nods from the others as they all looked around their surroundings. That was before they heard a voice.
"Lou? Is that you?" The voice asked from a remote corner in the store, but his step could be heard getting closer. "Did you bring the paper?"
When he finally came face to face with the children his eyes widened but then softened and he smiled.
"Hello there, what are you five children doing here this early in the morning?" He asked with a sweet voice, which the children hadn't heard for a while now, since everyone believed they were murderers.
"Hello, we wanted to know if there is a mapa we can look at." Violet said and the others nodded beside her.
"Why, of course I have maps. I have all kinds of stuff, this is the Last Chance General Store after all. But where are your parents?" He asked with intrigue and the children tended for a split second before Isadora spoke up. "They're outside, they want to take pictures of the sunrise."
"Oh, well in that case I'll be happy to show you the maps." He said and the children sighed in relief when he turned around.
As you and I know, the children's parents weren't outside, because if they had been they wouldn't have been in the Hinterlands in the first place, but Isadora Quagmire's as well as the other's hearts were strongly wishing that the lie they told the man had actually been the truth.
"So, do you want a map of the Hinterlands?" The nice man asked. "It's not a good time to be exploring the zone."
"How so?" Camille asked but was probably already aware of the answer.
"Well, there are these six children that are murderers, they escaped from VFD's authorities. The police are looking for them. No one should be allowed in this zone. Only Lou and those volunteers." He ended.
"Volunteers?" Violet asked interested. See, she remembered that Jacques Snicket had told them that he was a volunteer.
"Yeah, the Volunteers Fighting Disease. They go to Heimlich Hospital and sing to the patients. They are so kind that I refill their van for free every time the stop to refurnish." He said with a smile but it dissolved quickly as he thought.
"By the way, who allowed you?" He asked raising an eyebrow slightly.
"We were already here." Klaus chirped in. "In the Hinterlands, I mean. We were staying in VFD and saw all the commotion." He finished.
"Oh, really? So you know what they look like?" He asked and they tensed but he spoke again. "I haven't received today's Daily Punctilio so I don't know what they look like." He easily explained as the children remained tensed. "Lou is bringing it."
"What's on the newspapers is not always true." Klaus said looking around himself and holding tightly Isadora's hand.
"Of course it is. If it wasn't it wouldn't be on it." The man said and all of them sighed silently not wanting to call his attention. "Oh, my muffins!" He said and ran into one of the multiple crowded hallways.
"What are we going to do? When that man brings him The Daily Punctilio hell' see it's us." Camille said with worry.
"Let's check the map and see where we can go..." Duncan added.
"Duncan, these are the hinterlands. There's nothing for kilometers." Camille told him, she was really worried because she had been in Olaf's clutches and she didn't want to get caught again.
"Cam, it's ok. We'll find a way. We always do." Klaus reassured her as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"Ok, the man said there was a hospital. Look for it on this map." Violet commented bringing a map, no one  even noticing she had moved.
"Here's the hospital." Isadora pointed out. But as she did, a bell dinged indicating that someone entered the store.
"Lou? Is that you?" The heard the owner asked. But sadly and as always unluckily, it was indeed Lou with the newspaper and at the first glance the owner took of the newspaper. He said and I quote "Those children, I know them. They are in the store right now."
And I'm sorry to say, that it was the beginning of another chapter in the life of the Baudelaires and Quagmires as they raced through halls and hall crowded with piles and piles of things. Trying not to get caught by the two men after them.
They had taken the map and Camille had grabbed a change of clothes since she was still wearing the baggy pinstripe suit Esmé Squalor had given her and her siblings.
The children ran out of the store and caught sight of a white van with three letters that seemed to be following them everywhere they go.
"VFD." They all bursted out in one tired breath.