The World is Quiet Here - ASOUE

The Reptile Room: Part Two (1/2)

The next morning, the sun rose above the mansion of Dr. Montgomery Montgomery. Although the sun was supposed to bring warmth and joy to the inhabitants of the world, a feeling of deep dread loomed in the hearts of everyone in the mansion. Gray clouds blocked the sun from being viewed, casting an abnormally gray color to the sky above. But the residents of the mansion, both reptiles and humans alike, could not help feeling that something terrible had occurred. This left everyone and everything with a great feeling of unrest.

"There's no word to describe the feeling of waking up and knowing instantly that something is terribly wrong." Lemony explained. "If there were, the Baudelaires and Chris would have used that word when they rose to find dawn had awoken them, and their Uncle Monty had not."

The Baudelaire children and Chris awakened, glancing at the alarm clock beside them. Their eyes widened, realizing that they were late to board the ferry that would take them to Peru. From the very little they knew of Uncle Monty, the children knew that he was an intelligent, hardworking, responsible man. So why hadn't he come to wake them up? What had happened?

"Uncle Monty?" Klaus asked.

"Monty?" Violet called.

Worried, Violet, Klaus, and Chris ran down the grand staircase, and all the way to the Reptile Room. The Reptile Room was their uncle's office; surely he would be there out of all places. Maybe he could offer them an explanation as to why they were late. Had there been a change of plans?

"Uncle Monty?" Klaus asked as soon as they stepped through the doorway.

"Are you in here?" Violet called.

"Where could he be?" Chris wondered worriedly.

It was then that the three eldest children noticed their uncle's figure seated behind his desk chair. They cautiously approached the man, wondering why he hadn't responded to them. As they got closer, they saw how eerily still his body was; as still as a statue in a museum.

"We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will go to sleep, never to wake up." Lemony stated.

When the three eldest children finally stood before Monty Montgomery, they realized why he was so still. The man's normally tanned complexion was a dull gray; an extremely pale, waxy color. One of his brown eyes was gray blue, while dark veins protruded down the lengths of his face. Two holes were visible on the side of the man's cheek, which suspiciously resembled a snake bite.

Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, the world renown herpetologist, was dead.

"Monty..." Klaus breathed out.

Lemony continued. "But that didn't change how the Baudelaires and Chris felt that morning in the room their uncle had filled so carefully with specimens, and in which he was now a sort of specimen himself."

"How could this happen?" Klaus asked in disbelief.

"We know exactly how this happened," Violet scoffed.

Chris gently closed Monty's eyes, so that they weren't open any longer. His expression hardened into a scowl as he said, "It was a horrible crime committed by a horrible actor. When I get my hands on him, I'll-"

"My, my, my, my, my." Count Olaf stood in the doorway and removed his glasses. He set two suitcases he had been holding down by the doorframe. His fake accent returned back to his normal voice as he addressed the children. "What a terrible accident. Whoever discovers this will be very upset.  'For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.'"

"You murdered him," Klaus choked out.

"Why, Klaus, I'm surprised." Olaf mocked. "A smarty-pants boy like you ought to be able to figure out that jolly old Uncle Monty died from a snakebite, not murder. Look at the teeth marks on his cheek. Look at his cold, waxy face. Look at his unblinking eyes."