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how-to-survive-a-factory-tour · 5 years ago

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How To Survive a Factory Tour - Chapter 19

A Sanders Sides / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory FanFiction

Trigger Warnings: This chapter contains mentions of eating disorders, as well as mentions of deaths

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I can hear Wonka and Ethan’s voices around the corner in the next corridor. From what I hear, they’re discussing new candy ideas Wonka has. Too bad their conversation’s about to be cut short. I round the corner, and there they’re stood. My footsteps gain the attention of Wonka. “Ah, Mr Sanders! Great, now we may continue with… the…”

He trails off when Patton, Logan and Roman round the corner as well, just behind me.

Ethan looks like he’s just been slapped in the face.

“What are you three doing here? You should be recovering in the hospital wing!” Wonka says, before pausing. “Mr Berry, why haven’t you been fully juiced?”

“I couldn’t be. Due to an incident, the juicer kept breaking, and I began to ripen.”

I step forward, glaring at Ethan. “An incident caused by him.”

“When we were supposed to be saved, we found snakes ruining it and trying to kill us. Whether it be by drowning, repeatedly breaking the juicer, or killing literally all the Oompa Loompas in the room!” Roman explains.

“Snakes that we saw Ethan talking to in the Chocolate Room.”

“Ethan attempted three murders today, Mr Wonka,” Logan says. “Maybe four, if Virgil had not strayed from the tour. We don’t know why, but when we’re almost killed by snakes, and one of the tour members has a snake face, it is hard to ignore the correlation.”

“Everything that happened to them,” I glare at Ethan. “It was all because of him.”

Wonka is pale, looking like he has no idea what to say. He turns to Ethan.

Ethan’s head is tilted down, the rim of his bowler hat hiding his face. His fists are clenched, his hands trembling. There’s a moment of silence.

Before he lets out a sob.

He just breaks down crying. In between some of the sobs, I can hear him muttering “I’m sorry” over and over.

The rest of us share glances. None of us expected this. I expected a wicked, evil grin, and him to proclaim “Yes, ‘twas I who sent you to die! And I sure won’t let you to escape now!” or something like that. Or maybe I’ve just been hanging around Roman too long.

Finally, he calms himself, sniffling and wiping his eyes. He looks up at us. “Okay. I admit it. I did try to… t-to kill you… But I never wanted to in the first place! I… Let me just explain. Not an excuse, just talk you through my reasoning and where I was coming from when I made this… stupid decision…

“Seven years ago, Wonka hosted his first tour. After, a book detailing what happened was released based on the story of the factory the winners told. However, the book wasn’t completely factual. In fact, it left out a very significant detail: there were six tickets, not five. The sixth winner just completely hid themselves from the media and the public eye, so they were forgotten about. That child was me.

“Six children won the chance of the most wonderful, marvelous experience of their lives. But that’s not what we got. Things very quickly went from a fantasy to a nightmare. Wonka, for some reason, saw it as morally okay to punish young children, who did not yet have a fully developed sense of morality and right and wrong, for habits that either weren’t their fault or weren’t even big deals.”

He turns to Wonka. “And don’t tell me it wasn’t planned. Every room we went to had something tailored to each child. You had your mind made up about who would win from the beginning, and had to get the rest of us out of commission.”

He turns back to us. “Augustus fell in the chocolate river, got sucked up the pipe. Just because he was chubby and liked food. Violet had the gum and turned into a blueberry. Just because she liked to chew gum a lot. Veruca got attacked by squirrels and shoved down the garbage chute. Punished for what was her dad’s fault, since he was the one who threw gifts at her all the time. Mike went through Wonkavision and got shrunk. Punished for what was his parents fault, as they were the ones who shoved him in front of the TV instead of actually spending time with their son.

“And then there was me. A few things you need to know before I continue. First, I didn’t always look like this. I was completely ordinary looking as a child. I was also a compulsive liar. I had no control over it. It was so bad, there were even times I didn’t know whether what I was saying was true or false. What I needed was professional help to deal with my problem, but instead my parents always used to just scold me and tell me off for lying. So, it just got worse as the years went by, and by the time of the tour, it was at its worst. And despite it being a disorder out of my control, I got punished for it.

“We went to a room called the Rainforest Room. It was like the Chocolate Room and Dessert Island, with everything being made of candy and sweets, but there were more candy animals. Mr Wonka told us not to approach the animals, but I ended up finding a living gummy snake. Snakes are my favourite animal, so I was really excited to see it. I got close, and it was fine. I pet the snake, and it was perfectly content.

“Then Mr Wonka saw me and called my name. It startled the snake, and the snake bit me. Mr Wonka asked me if it bit me, and because I couldn’t control myself, I said no. And that’s when I got my first scale.”

He turns to Wonka again. “How coincidental! I, a compulsive liar, got bitten by a snake that causes you to slowly turn more snake like with every lie! Almost like it was planned.

“You. You ruined my life! Every time I lied, I got another scale, or my eye turned yellow, and I became more snake-like. I became a freak! Sure, you eventually sent me a ‘cure’ that would stop my from transforming with every lie, but by then the damage had already been done, as you all can plainly see. I was abandoned by my friends at school. I was ostracised by everyone I knew, judged wherever I went.

“I wanted justice. I wanted my parents to sue for the damages done to me in this factory. However, they never did. They were happy this happened. I ended up overcoming my compulsive lying not long after the factory tour, so my parents just assumed it was all thanks to Wonka. When it wasn’t. It was my own work and self-help.

“And that was the end of it for a while. However, a few years later, I got curious. What happened to the other children from that tour? So I looked into it.

“Violet went off the grid. She got disowned by her parents, and ended up running away from home. There were occasional sightings of her; I mean, she’s blue, easy to notice. Veruca’s dad’s business went bust. The family ended up going from rich to flat broke because the state they left the factory in left them laughing stocks. Mike, like me, was seen as a freak of nature. Though I think he eventually shrunk back down to normal height, so he was the only one who got an actually nice and normal life in the end. And Augustus…”

Ethan’s tearing up again. He wipes away the tears, taking a deep breath. “After the tour, he developed an eating disorder. And it killed him. Thanks to Wonka, a perfectly innocent child died.

“But he wasn’t the only one, was he, Wonka? Remember, Virgil, earlier today when you asked about Charlie? How he should be here since became the heir to the factory at the end of the last tour? Well, Wonka has something to tell us about that.”

We all turn to Wonka expectantly. The chocolatier has gone pale white at Ethan’s story so far. He gulps. “I… Th-there was an incident… An explosion in the Inventing Room. Charlie… he was killed.”

Ethan lets out a laugh, though it’s dry and sad. “Two children, dead by your hands…

“No longer was my anger at Wonka solely due to what he did to me. It was about all of us. He ruined the lives of four children, and killed two. So, when Wonka announced his second tour, a tour to replace Charlie - this time with someone older who would be more careful, I assume, I saw my chance. I did the same research you did, Logan, and found a ticket. I actually found mine before any of you four did. I then took notes on you all in your interviews.

“One bonus becoming part snake means I can talk with them and ask them to do my bidding. So, I used them to assist putting my plan into action. The idea I had was, if I got you all into incidents, at least one of you would do what I had wanted my parents to do and sue. Then finally Wonka would have to pay for his actions. So, once I had a good idea about all of you, your likes and dislikes, I… broke into the factory and set up everything for your incidents. I switched Wonka’s tour plan to go to the rooms tailored for each of you, and then got to work. I and my snakes weakened the cliff in Dessert Island so it would break when Patton stepped on it, placed hid a jar of Crofters and a snake in the Inventing Room and asked said snake it roll it in and activate the teleporter when Logan entered, and placed a sword in the dragon’s lair that I knew Roman would take and use to fight, and asked a snake to stay there and trip Roman up mid-battle.

“But I want to emphasise, I never intended for any of you to be killed! I just wanted to cause small inconveniences and accidents that would lead to you suing.

“However, my plan went wrong the second we stepped into the factory to start the tour. Because this time Wonka was smart. He had us sign that waiver, meaning he couldn’t be sued. I was fuming. My plan for revenge, my plan to avenge the fallen, was foiled! In a fit of rage, I made a stupid decision, a horrible mistake…

“In the Chocolate Room, I called for a few of my snakes, and told them to make sure at least one of you four died. The way I saw it, if at least one of us didn’t leave the factory alive, the rest of us could spread the word of the incident in the factory that killed them, causing enough public outrage to lower Wonka’s business and hopefully get him closed down.

“The gravity of what I’d done hit me too late. By trying to get you killed, I was just as bad as Wonka… maybe worse… And now you’re here. Alive. Knowing what I’ve done. Instead of avenging the others who were hurt, I just hurt more people… i was so stupid…”

Hiss…

Patton backs away a little as a snake slithers into the corridor. It has two heads and is yellow with black stripes, and is carrying Ethan’s suit jacket in its mouths. Ethan gives it a small sad smile, before bending down, picking up the jacket, and slipping it on. He then picks up the snake. “Thank you, Crowley, Nagini,” he says to each of its heads, before sitting the snake on his shoulders. He sighs, looking back at us. “I’m so sorry. All of you. I don’t expect you to forgive me… but I hope now you understand my thought process that led me to this point. Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of your lives now…” He turns and begins to walk from the corridor, turning the corner.

“... Wait, Ethan!” Patton runs after him. “Stop! Can’t we talk about-” He pauses as he looks around the corner. “He’s gone…”

The rest of us come over and join him. As he said, the next corridor is empty. Ethan has disappeared.

We step back and turn back to Wonka, confused as to what to do now. This wasn’t what I expected. Not what any of us expected. Not at all.

Wonka sighs. “He’s right. I did rig the last tour… I didn’t mean for such things to happen to the children after the tour was over, I just… wanted to teach them some manners. I didn’t think of the consequences. And as for Charlie, I was stupid for thinking a child could run this place. That’s why I hosted this tour. I need someone more responsible, wise, careful. Just, someone older. But, um, I doubt any of you would want to work here after all this… The elevator’s down the hall, you can take it to the front door. I’m so sorry this whole tour fell apart.”

I share glances with the others. Then Roman speaks up. “I wouldn’t say it fell apart. I mean, the Chocolate Room was a lot of fun!”

Patton nods. “Yeah, and so was Dessert Island! It was really cool before I fell in the ocean!”

“And the Inventing Room was extremely interesting and intriguing.” Logan pauses. “Hold on, I just remembered, Patton, I have something for you.” He reaches into his pocket. “Sorry, it might be a little crushed because it was in my pocket when I swelled up, but…” He pulls out one of the gobstopper from the Inventing Room, and hands it to Patton. As he said, it looks a little squished. “It’s an Everlasting Gobstopper. It, well, lasts forever. We were all given them, so I figured I’d get one for you too since you missed out.”

“Whoa, that’s so cool!” Patton smiles. “They’re safe to have, right?” Wonka nods, and Patton happily puts the gobstopper in his mouth.

I turn back to Wonka. “They’re right, though. Apart from the incidents, today was pretty cool… Seeing a real dragon, though terrifying, was awesome.”

Wonka looks between us all. “Really?”

We all nod, Roman saying, “Yeah. I think any of us would love to be the heir to this place! I’d happily put myself forward for it!” He pauses. “Except I probably wouldn’t be the best fit. I mean, you said earlier you needed someone responsible, wise and careful. And… well, I tried to fight a dragon earlier. Which, while very dashing,” he shoots a grin at me, “was also rather irresponsible. I wouldn’t last a day owning this place.”

“What about Lo?”

Logan turns to Patton, eyebrow raised. “What? Me?”

“Yeah!” Patton smiles. “Wonka’s looking for someone wise, and you're the smartest person I’ve ever met! And you’re really responsible! You’d be great at running a business.”

Logan shakes his head. “No, I could never be the heir of this factory. I mean, sure I’d have the business side down, but I don’t have the creativity to create things like Wonka does. Not to mention that, while I have a sweet tooth, I just don’t have a passion for creating candies. Which is why you’ve got to be the one, Pat. I mean, you work at a bakery. You know all about food and flavours and things. You’d be a perfect chocolatier.”

“Aw, Lo, it’s so sweet you think that! But I wouldn’t be able to run this place. I wouldn’t be able to handle the business part. In fact, there’s a lot of stuff I wouldn’t be able to handle with a factory of this size. Think I’ll just stick with my dream of opening my own bakery.”

“I guess that leaves one last candidate,” Roman says. “And it just so happens to be the person I think is perfect for the job.”

It takes me a moment to realise it’s me he’s talking about. “Wait, what?”

“Think about it! You’re responsible and careful. And you’re smart - you were the one who managed to figure out it was Ethan behind everything. And you’re brave and quick thinking. It was incredible how you saved us all. And you’re creative! You’re an artist!”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean, I’m an artist?”

“This slipped out your pocket when we were in the boat heading to Dessert Island.” Roman reaches in his pocket and pulls out a scrap of paper. On it is a multiple drawings. God, I forgot about that… I was bored one day at work and nicked a blank strip of receipt paper, and just started drawing with my pen. “I was amazed when I saw them, they’re actually really good.” Roman pockets the paper again before turning back to Wonka. “So, you should make Virgil your heir. And, to be fair, I think he needs it the most out of all of us, given his current living conditions.”

Wonka looks to me. “Would you like to be my heir, Virgil?”

“I… Would my family be able to live here too? My brother and mom?”

“Of course! The more the merrier!”

I bite my lip. “Would I be able to go back to high school?”

“Education is very important, so yes.”

“Could you pay for my brother to go to college?”

“It would be no skin off my back. I’d be fine with it.”

Holy shit, this is perfect. I’d have job security. Thomas could go onto study whatever he wants. My family would never be in poverty again. “Yes. Yes, I’d love to take over the factory! Thank you so much!”

“There’s no need to thank me. Now, we’ll all take the elevator to the main entrance so that you three can return home, and then, Virgil, we’ll head off to pick up you family. Come on!” Wonka skips off, and we all follow behind. I still can hardly believe it. I’m the heir of Willy Wonka’s factory.

“Um, Mr Wonka?” Logan asks as we step into the elevator. “Um, it’s very likely that, when we leave, there will be a lot of media outside. And, I don’t know about Patton and Roman, but I don’t really want to be caught on camera like this. Is there any way we can leave through a back entrance or something?”

“Hm... There’s a chance there may be reporters at those entrances too. But I think I know just the thing for you!” He presses a button - the one for the Inventing Room - and we zoom off.

As we travel through the factory, a hand suddenly slips into mine. I turn to see Roman, trying his best to look casual, but his face is slightly red.

He’s really serious about this? About liking me? I mean… I just assumed he was making jokes earlier. Yeah, I know he literally said it wasn’t a joke, but… I assumed that was a joke too. Just… look at him! He’s the handsomest guy I’ve ever met; what would he want with someone like me?

Should I say something? Or have I left it too long now? Is the fact that I haven’t pulled my hand away enough of a sign? No, of course it’s not… Come on, Virgil, do something!

I squeeze his hand. That’s all. God, I’m fucking useless.

Ding!

“Come on, you four!” Wonka runs from the lift, the rest of us following. My and Roman’s hands slip apart.

As we walk through the Inventing Room, Patton looks around, eyes wide with curiosity, given as he hasn’t been in this room yet. Logan, on the other hand, looks rather uncomfortable. As we pass the teleporter and where we were when he swelled up, he hugs Patton’s arm and looks down at his stomach, as if scared it could start swelling again any second.

We continue through the room, until Wonka comes to a stop at a locked box. He inputs the code into the lock and pulls it off. He opens the box and pulls something cloak-like out. He passes it to Logan. “I think this is the largest size. Try it on.”

Logan flushes a little at being told he now needs much larger sizes, but slips the cloak on. As he does so, his body suddenly disappears from view.

“Oh. My. God,” Roman gasps. “Is that an invisibility cloak? Like in Harry Potter?!”

Wonka nods, pulling out two more and handing them to Roman and Patton. “Right you are! And these ones are edible, so when you have no more need for them, you can eat them up! They should allow you to get out of the factory without anyone batting an eye. Come on, let's head to the entrance hall.”

We head back to the elevator, and Wonka presses the button for the entrance hall. We zoom off, and it doesn’t take us long to arrive. Logan and Patton step out, wrapping their cloaks around themselves. However, Patton hesitates before coming back. He pulls an arm from one of his crutches and pulls me close into a hug. “I’m gonna miss you, Virge! You’re going to be the best chocolatier ever, I just know it!”

I smile, hugging him back. “I’ll miss you too, Pat. But, hey, I’m probably going to get a phone sometime soon now, so I’ll be able to talk to you anytime.”

Patton steps back. “I guess that’s true… I’ll still miss you though.” He steps from the elevator.

Logan offers me his hand. “I wish you the best for the future, Virgil. And thank you for saving my life. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

I surprise Logan by taking his hand and, instead of shaking it, pulling him into a hug. “You don’t need to, Logan. Just like you won’t need to repay any of us for getting you a new binder.”

“I thought you weren’t going to…”

“Well, I was broke then. I’m not now.”

Logan chuckles. “True… Again, thank you. I… I’ll miss you too.” He pulls from the hug, giving me a small wave, before stepping from the elevator as well.

Roman slips a piece of paper into my hand. It’s the paper with my doodles on, only he’s added three numbers on the back. “Mine, Patton and Logan’s numbers. Figured you’d need them to actually contact us.” He pauses. “You know… I really underestimated you when I first saw your interview. You’re incredible. You really are the perfect choice for Wonka’s heir.”

He pecks a kiss to my cheek.

Holy shit.

“Bye, Virge. Call me.”

And with that he turns and steps out of the elevator. He and the other two head to the doors, calling their final goodbyes. As they reach the doors, they pull up the hoods of their cloaks, disappearing from view completely. The doors seemingly open on their own.

“Bye,” I say.

The doors close. And now I’m the only tour winner left in the factory.

“Come on!” Wonka smiles. “Lets go get the rest of your family!”

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