The Crimson Tales:

The Secret Society

(last updated: 05:14:10)

Written By:

BJ & JB

Part 1:
The Beginning

Chapter .00

In Captivity

"Remove the hoods!" a man deep voice commanded. Two men removed the black sacks that covered Winnie and Vikki's heads. Winnie and Vikki looked around the room. They were surrounded by thirteen guards, all of them had guns in their hands. Standing in front of them was a large man, who Winnie guessed was the captain. The room was dim except for the one light that shined on Vikki and Winnie's faces.
"Name please?" the large man asked Winnie.
"Tina," Winnie lied. "Tina Lo."
"And yours," the man poked Vikki in the chest with a whip.
"Um... Hansel Redd," Vikki said.

Chapter .01

24 Hours Earlier

Six orphans made their way down the deserted road shoulder to shoulder. It was winter now and all they had on their backs where the clothes they had worn the first time the got to Octave’s mansion, and that was during summer. The only orphans that had on a sweater was Crow, because he came to Octave’s house yesterday, and came dressed for winter. The other one was Winnie, who always wore a sweater to keep her tiny kitten Olive warm.
The orphans were heading off to nowhere. They had no place in mind. They were just walking from town to town, trying to find a suitable place to stay and make a living. But that was nearly impossible for six eleven years olds to do. They were all starting to lose hope. They had only been searching for twenty-four hours now, and they had nothing to eat, and never did they stop to rest.
They currently didn’t know where they were. They were walking through a ghost town it seemed. All the stored were closed, and there weren’t any cars in sight, as well as other people. The town looked as if it had been deserted for years.
“I can’t go on much longer,” Margo fell to her knees shivering. Klaus dropped down to warm his sister. But that didn’t help much, considering Klaus’s skin was icy cold. But Margo didn’t move away.
“We have to keep going,” Indigo snapped. “The police will be on the look out for us. Mind you, we were part of a killing spree yesterday. Who knows what creepy psychos Octavius might have connections with!"
“We killed three adults?” Vikki’s teeth chattered. Indigo rolled her eyes.
“They’ll be looking for us too!” Indigo explained. “Even if it was just Crow who killed Octave, the Mistress, and Douglas.”
“Do they think an eleven year old would shoot a person!?” Winnie questioned.
“Possibly,” Crow shrugged. “But I’d rather be on the safe side. Now lets get going, like Indigo said.”
“My feet are practically frozen,” Margo moaned. Klaus patted her sympathetically on the back. “If we go on much longer in this weather we’ll die. And we haven’t eaten all day, and we haven’t had a chance to rest.”
“We don’t have a choice!” Indigo started to sound irritated.
“Please Indigo,” Klaus begged. “Let us rest for the night. My sister can’t go on.”
“OK fine,” Indigo crossed her arms across her chest. “But where will we stay?”
“We can stay in one of the stores,” Vikki suggested.
“How will we get in?’ Winnie asked. “All the stores are probably locked.”
“Easy!” Crow acted as if it were no big deal. “Does any one have a hair pin?”
“My sister does!” Klaus said. Margo dug a hair pin out of tangled hair and handed in to Crow. Ten minutes later the orphans made it inside the nearby bakery. It was surprisingly warm and toasty. And they all crowded around the stove as Indigo figured out how to turn it on.
“Ah yes!” Vikki sighed as she brought her frozen toes up to the stove. The heat wrapped around them like a warm blanket. This was the best they had felt since they left the mansion.
“I guess this is nice,” Indigo tried to sound ungrateful, but the others could tell she was as happy as they were.
“Thank you Indigo,” Winnie said as she held Olive to the fire just close enough to warm him up. Olive meowed.
When everybody was asleep, Winnie and Vikki woke up in the middle of the night.
As Margo's mind drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness, she heard voices that sounded familiar...but she was too tired to think about it.......
"Hey Vikki, let's go, we need to set our plans in motion." Winnie whispered.
"I know," Vikki sighed, "But it was so nice being in a group..."
"They won't understand, but it will all come clear at the end. Right Vikki?"
"I hope so, but whatever the others think, I know what I am doing in my heart is right. Let's go Winnie."
There was only silence after that except for the clink of a door being carefully opened and shut with two pairs of feet tip-toeing into the dark night...
A low, exasperated sigh could be heard as Winnie and Vikki left. One of the orphans was watching them...Vikki paused at the door taking one last look before finally leaving.

Chapter .02

Where is Everybody Going?!

A beautiful sunrise was rising into the sky. The birds that were healthy enough were screeching joyfully. But all was spoiled by a certain somebody's scream....
"VIKKI! WINNIE! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUU!!!" Margo shouted frantically. Klaus tried to comfort Margo. Indigo just rolled her eyes.
"They're gone, they sneaked away in the middle of the night." Indigo said nonchalantly.
"Don't you care?!" Margo practically yelled in Indigo's face.
"Maybe." Indigo replied.
"I think they are gone my dear sister. Search your feelings." Klaus soothingly said to Margo. "Calm down."
But Margo was too shaken over Winnie and Vikki's death. Oh, sorry, my bad, I meant departure. Anyway...
"We have to go look for them!" Margo said losing her composure.
"Do they matter to you that much?" Indigo inquired.
"What are you talking about, they're our friends!"
"Even if they are our friends, which I'm not saying they are-"
"SHUT UP! You know, I'm starting to not like that attitude of yours Indigo!"
"Fine then, let's split up! I never liked you in the first place!" Indigo said also starting to lose her composure.
Margo looked horrified.
This whole time Crow and Klaus had been watching the exchange between Margo and Indigo.
"So, how long do think they're gonna last?" Crow asked Klaus while they watched the two girls get into a heated argument.
"While I am loyal to my dear sister Margo-" Klaus started to say. He admitted,"Not that long."
"Yeah, I thought so too." Crow nodded his head in agreement. "Indigo has her own way of doing things and not everybody understands that."
"Margo cares a lot about Winnie and Vikki." Klaus said.
"I guess I'll see ya later, looks like they're gonna burst." Crow commented.
"Likewise." Klaus said.
"CROW! Come on!" Indigo said as she motioned impatiently for Crow to come.
"Dear brother! Let's go!" Margo said pulling on her brother's hand. Margo and Klaus left the cold bakery. "We're going to find Winnie and Vikki! Unlike some people!"
Indigo just stared at a wall with a huge frown on her face and her eyebrows knitted very tightly. Several minutes passed by. Indigo's face gradually started to relax.
"Have you calmed down yet?" Crow said.
"Yeah," Indigo admitted sighing very deeply. "Let's get away from this place." Indigo and Crow stepped out of the bakery and headed in the opposite direction Margo and Klaus had taken.

Chapter .03

Captured

Winnie and Vikki made their way across the frozen land. There weren't any buildings, trees, people or animals in sight. The only thing that was surrounding them was white, thick, icy snow. They had kept warm by finding some abandoned furs they found a few miles back.
"Do you know where we're going?," Winnie asked.
"Yeah! Of course! I read about this land before," Vikki said as she looked at her compass, that she stole from Octave's bedroom on the day she escaped his clutches. "We are currently in the Artic Circle."
"Do you think Indigo, Crow, Margo, and Klaus will be after us soon?" Winnie asked.
"Maybe Margo, but definitely not Indigo." Vikki assumed. "Indigo showed that she doesn't care for us."
Winnie frowned. "Ickem!"
"You wish!" Vikki said. The two orphans kept on walking, bundled in their furs, until they saw five small black figures appear on the horizon. The figures got larger and larger as they came closer. Vikki and Winnie soon noticed that the figures were large men, all of them riding on sleds that were being pulled by large huskies.
"What is your purpose here!" The largest man (who looked like the leader) boomed to Vikki. The five men wore large furs and their faces were rough looking.
"We're here because..." Vikki nudged Winnie in the side.
"We...we were just...just here to look at the scenery," Winnie chattered. The men all exchanged glances, all not seeming convinced.
"Yeah right," one of them muttered. "There's nothing but snow and more snow around here!"
"They're lying!" another man hissed.
"You know what to do men." The leader said and nodded his head once. The others grinned evilly as they approached the two girls in a vast, empty, tundra, devoid of life.
Winnie and Vikki looked around wildly as the men surrounded them. The men then wrestled them into ropes and tugged black sacs over Winnie's and Vikki's head. Winnie was then thrown onto on of the dog sleds, with Olive still hidden in her sweater pocket. Vikki was thrown onto another sled.
"Take 'em to Tranaad!" the leader commanded. And with a jerk, all the sleds were in motion.
"Winnie!" Vikki cried. A man knocked her on the back of the head knocking Vikki out.

Chapter .04

In Captivity

"Remove the hoods!" a mans deep voice commanded. Two men removed the black sacks that covered Winnie and Vikki's heads. Winnie and Vikki looked around the room. They were surrounded by thirteen guards, all of them had guns in their hands. Standing in front of them was a large man, who Winnie guessed was the captain. The room was dim except for the one light that shined on Vikki and Winnie's faces.
"Name please?" the large man asked Winnie.
"Tina," Winnie lied. "Tina Lo."
"And yours," the man poked Vikki in the chest with a whip.
"Um... Hansel Redd," Vikki said.
"Hansel and Tina," the large men asked. "Do you know who I am?"
Vikki and Winnie shook their heads no.
"I am Debob Kalob," the large man straightened up. "And I am now the leader of TSS."
Vikki and Winnie side glanced at each other.
"I thought Octave was," Winnie asked, but then slapped her hand over her mouth. Debob looked at the guards and back at Winnie. He quickly reached for Winnie and grabbed her black hair, nearly ripping it out of her scalp.
"How do you know of Octave?" Debob growled.
"Um," beads of sweat ran down Winnie's forehead.
"We heard a man in the coffee shop mention him a few weeks ago," Vikki blurted out. Debob looked at Vikki and let go of Winnie. She let out a sigh of relief.
"You little ones are fishy to me," Debob stroked his light brown goatee, staring at the orphans intently with his bright blue eyes. "We better not send these girls to Germany. We better keep them here in Tranaad."
"Tranaad?" Winnie whispered so only Vikki could hear. Vikki nodded.
"He mentioned this place in the letter," Vikki whispered back. When she said he, she was referring to Octave.
Vikki and Winnie stayed quiet for the next hour as Debob and the guards huddled in the corner murmering to each other. After an hour passed Winnie and Vikki slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up!" Debob shook the two orphans. Winnie was the first to wake up to see that she was in a the back of Hummer that was making its way down an icy road. As she looked out the window she saw a large castle, probably thirty times the size of the White House! The castle looked as if it were made of ice, making it look like a Winter Kingdom. It was dark and forbidding.
"Where are you taking us?" Vikki managed to say as she woke up. Winnie continued to look in apprehension at the winter castle.
"I'm taking you to this wonderful palace," Debob smiled evilly.
Winnie just gazed at the palace.
"Where are we?" Vikki asked.
"We're still in Tranaad," Debob answered simply.
"I read many books about Tranaad, and I always read that there wasn't any civilization," Vikki told him. "Tranaad, is an abandoned island in the Arctic circle."
Debob put his head back and laughed.
"Nonsense my dear," he patted her with giant rough hands on the knee. "I have lived in Tranaad all my life."
Winnie, who was no longer looking at the palace, was side glancing at Vikki.
"Ickem," she mouthed to Vikki. "Tribec (He's Russian.) Haughti (You can tell by his looks and accent.)"
"What was that?" Debob asked."I never knew you were bilingual."
"I'm not," Winnie shook her head. "I know a lot more than two languages. I know at least twenty six."
Debob scornfully looked at her.
"I can speak 26 languages!" Winnie protested.
"Fine then, off to the experimental laboratory you go!" Debob cheerfully declared.
For the first time in several years, Winnie was speechless. She was frightened at the prospect of being experimented on and how easily Debob said it.
"What about me?" Vikki asked. She didn't want to be separated from Winnie.
"Do you have any talents or abilities? No? Well then, off to the manual labor camp!"
Vikki squeaked, she wasn't that strong...

Chapter .05

the Coffee Shop

"Yes!" Klaus jumped up and down as he and Margo came across a coffe shop that was filled with people. Margo and Klaus thought that this was a peculiar place to find a coffee shop that was in the middle of an abandoned tundra. But it looked warm, and the sign in front said they had hot coffee and hot cocoa, and there were people.
"Finally!" Margo nearly yelled aloud. She and Klaus reached for the door and looked inside. Everyone seemed so happy, and music was playing from a jukebox. Margo and Klaus pushed open the door and walked inside. Suddenly the music stopped, and everyone was looking at them.
What's wrong?
You.
Margo looked at Klaus and then at herself. There was nothing wrong, they looked perfectly normal. Klaus took one step to ask what was wrong. A few people backed away.
"What?" Klaus look confused. An elderly man pointed at a sign that was hung up on the wall.

WARRANT
$10,000 reward
Klaus (M) and Margo (F) (last name unknown)
-tall for their age, about 5'4"
-orphans
-twins
-about the age of eleven
-green eyes
-light brown hair
-Margo's is shoulder length and bushy
-Klaus's is more tame, wavy, and passed the ears.

"My hair doesn't look that bushy does it?" Margo whispered. Klaus fixed the limp red bow in her hair.
"Eh," Klaus shrugged. "I'd comb it if I were you."
Margo tugged onto her hair nervously.
"Take a seat," a short plump lady wearing an apron gestured to the only empty table in the coffee shop. Her apron had a name tag on it that read: MAGGIE (owner) on it.
"Aren't you going to call the policemen on us?" Margo asked. Everyone in the shop started to laugh. Margo and Klaus looked around, confused.
"Are you kidding!" Maggie embraced Margo and Klaus in a bone crushing hug. "We are against the Boogey Men!"
"Boogey Men?" Klaus asked. Maggie ignored Klaus and showed Klaus and his sister to the table.
"My goodness children!" Maggie gasped as she sat them down at the table and handed them menus.
"Um, sorry ma'am but we don't have any money," Margo told Maggie. Maggie just chuckled.
"For you guys," Maggie said. "On the house! Pick anything you want. Anything! You guys don't have to pay a dime!"
Maggie then left to help another customer. Margo and Klaus ordered tomato soup, grilled cheese, hot chocolate, and anything else that was hot on the menu. They didn't have anything to eat in the last few days, how they survived without food was a mystery.
"Mmmm," Margo took in a sip of hot cocoa. "I haven't had a meal like since the last time we were with mom and dad."
Klaus nodded as he took a mouth full spaghetti.
"Eat up," a man wearing a top hat and black suit said as he sat in the seat next to Margo. He looked like he was in his mid fifties. He had gray hair and a gray mustache. His eyes were a dull green which were hidden under bushy eyebrows.
"Do we know you?" Klaus asked through a mouth full of grilled cheese. The man took off his top hat.
"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "My name is Elijah Montgomery. I am here to help you guys," he explained.
"With what?," the twins asked. Elijah Montgomery leaned into the table and lowered his voice so only Margo and Klaus could here.
"With the Boogey Men."
Margo and Klaus exchanged confused glances.
"The TSS."
Margo and Klaus looked at each other once more.
"What are you talking about," Margo asked.
"Let me elaborate further," he began. "The TSS is The Secret Society. The Secret Society kidnaps orphans from all over the world, and use them for hard labor, and then kill them."
"Why do the TSS target orphans?" Klaus asked.
"Because orphans don't have any families to defend them, and orphans are usually left behind with fortunes their parents left them. They can't just take some kid who isn't orphaned. Because they have families who look after them. Orphans have nothing but their fortunes."
Klaus and Margo looked disgusted.
"Like Octave?" Klaus whispered to Margo. Elijah Montgomery almost jumped out of his seat.
"Octavious Hazardous IV! That wretched man started the whole thing!" Elijah Montgomery pointed out.
"He tried to kill us!" Klaus exclaimed. Elijah nodded.
"But we killed him," Margo whispered. Elijah Montgomery nodded again.
"We praise you for that," Elijah Montgomery said. "But thats just the town of Sequatore."
"Sequatore?"
"That's the town your in right now," he explained and then continued. "Many cities, even countries are after you! You and your friends!"
"Why is everyone on Octave's side!?" Margo clenched her fists.
"Because the TSS has taken over the globe since you guys were locked up at Octaves," Elijah shook his head. "It's all about TSS now. In other parts of the world all you see is TSS signs and warrants for orphans. And the TSS wiped out 90 percent of the globe's orphanages. There are only a few left. And those are all kept a secret. But TSS will find those eventually."
"We have to stop them!" Margo banged her fists on the table. Klaus nodded. Elijah Montgomery beamed.
"I shall help you do so," Elijah Montgomery said as he put on his top hat. "We will start our trek to Tranaad early tomorrow morning. For the night you can stay at my house."
"Thank you Elijah Montgomery!" Margo was thankful. "My brother and I appreciate it."

For almost an hour Elijah Montgomery took Margo and Klaus to his home on a dog sled. The houses were all underground and spaced out for miles. On the way to Elijah Montgomery's they passed only two houses, a grocery store, and a book store. By the time they reached the house it was night time.
"Make yourselves at home," the old man said. Margo and Klaus sat down on the extremely comfy couch that was in the living room. The house was small and toasty. The orphans almost forgot that they were in the North.
"Honey! My love, is that you!? Who are you with!?" a ladie's voice called from the kitchen.
"Yes love! We're having some guests tonight," Elijah Montgomery called out to his wife, Lillian. Lillian walked out into the living room. She was a very petite old lady with wispy brown hair. There was a warmth about her presence. When she saw the twins sitting on her couch she gasped.
"Are these the two of them?" Lillian looked delighted. "Two of the six orphans that we heard about on the news for the last few days?"
Elijah Montgomery nodded.
"Hello," Klaus and Margo greeted in unison.
"Hello darlings," she said back. She then turned to her husband looking irritated. "Elijah Montgomery! Why didn't you tell me that we were having such special guests. I would have tidied up the house a bit! And look at my hair!"
"It's okay," Klaus said in a sweet voice. "Your house is fine how it is. And it is much better than Octave's."
"Yes," Margo agreed. "And we couldn't thank you enough for letting us stay with you guys for the night."
Lillian squealed and rushed to the orphans and hugged them kissing them both on the forehead, leaving marks of pink lipstick on their foreheads.
"Anytime dears," she said. "Oh! And I better get you two a new pair of clothes. And Elijah, remind me to go shopping for furs tomorrow morning. You guys will never survive this harsh weather if you wear those old tattered clothes any longer."

Soon Margo and Klaus where dressed in warm thermals, and for the rest of the night Elijah talked to them about the TSS.
"Why do we call the TSS the boogey men?" Klaus questioned.
"Because they're dressed in black and come out and whisk orphans away to a TSS center, kinda like a boogey man."
"So are you really going to help us stop TSS and save our friends Winnie and Vikki?" Margo asked.
"Of course," Elijah Montgomery nodded. He glanced at his wrist watch. "Oh my goodness! Look at the time! We better get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us."
"Goodnight Elijah Montgomery," Klaus and Margo said in union. Lillian then came out to show the orphans to guest room and tucked them in bed. When all the lights were out and Lillian and Elijah Montgomery were asleep, Margo and Klaus sat up straight.
"Do you think Vikki and Winnie will survive?" Margo whispered. Klaus didn't answer. "Do you?"
"I don't know," Klaus shrugged. "By what Elijah Montgomery tells us, Debob Kalob seems just as bad as Octave. And what if we don't stop him and The Secret Society?"
"We have to stop them," Margo said. "If we don't, TSS will take over the world. There are already three TSS Centers built in the North. What if more centers are built!?"
"This is all so complicated," Klaus massaged his temples.
"And do you think the Boogey Men took Indigo and Crow yet?" Margo asked, her eyes started to swell.
"I trust Indigo and Crow," Klaus said. "If they get captured, they'll find a way out. They're smart, they have their survival skills down. But Vikki and Winnie on the other hand... I don't know."

Chapter .06

An Unexpected Guest

The next day, Margo and Klaus woke up to the sound of knocking on Elijah's door.
"Knock. Knock."
Margo immediately sat up straight.
"What's the matter dear sister?" Klaus sleepily asked. (He wasn't fully awake.)
"I sense someone familiar." Margo replied. Klaus stared at Margo quizzically.
Elijah opened the door and saw a young girl about Margo and Klaus's age standing on the doorstep.
"My, my. Now how did you ever get here? What's your name dear?" Elijah asked the girl with black hair.
She was silent for a second, then flatly stated, "My name is Indigo."
Elijah's mind turned head over heels. Three orphans in two days!
"Well, what a pleasant surprise!" Elijah exclaimed. "Good thing you came to me. Did you know that two of your friends are here also? Come in, come in!" Elijah ushered Indigo into his house. "Lilian! We have another guest!"
Lilian came into the living room, she had been cooking breakfast. The smell of breakfast was drifting all over Elijah's house. "What guest are you talking about dear?" Lilian said with a frying pan in her hand. "Oh, excuse me I must put this frying pan away." She hurried back to the kitchen.
"Margo! Klaus! Come into the living room!" Elijah called.
Now, this whole time Margo and Klaus had been listening in shock. What was Indigo doing here? How did she get here?
Margo and Klaus slowly walked into the living room where Elijah was bombarding Indigo with questions. "How did you get here? Where have you been?" etc, etc. Indigo just stared at Elijah.
Lilian came into the living room and gently scolded Elijah. "Elijah, breakfast first and then questions later."
Elijah sheepishly said, "Children, let's have breakfast."
Seated at the dining table, everybody started to eat breakfast. "Now child, what was your name again?" Lilian asked Indigo.
Indigo flatly stated, again, "My name is Indigo."
Upon hearing the name Indigo, Lilian suddenly dropped her fork with a loud clatter. "Oh! Dearie me." Lilian exclaimed as she picked up her fork, quite visibly shaken.

"Now dear..." Elijah looked at Lilian with an eyebrow raised
"Please excuse my behavior." Lilian tittered. "I don't know what came over me."
Margo and Klaus looked at each other puzzled. Indigo just continued to eat her breakfast quietly.
Do you think Lilian and Indigo have a connection? Margo asked Klaus with her mind.
I'm not sure. But now that you mention it, there were rumors at our old orphanage... Klaus responded.
After that, things got pretty chilly at the dining table.

Chapter .07

Who Died?

Later, Margo and Klaus went into the room where Indigo was staying.
"What do you want?" Indigo said.
Margo and Klaus looked at each other for a second.
Klaus broke the silence by asking, "Where is Crow?"
"Dead." Indigo replied.
"You killed him?!?" Margo exclaimed.
"No."
"Then what happened!?"
"He died."
"He just died?" Klaus asked suspicously.
"Yup. "
Margo and Klaus didn't believe Indigo, but this conversation wasn't getting anywhere so they just left the room.