A Tale of Wretched Occurrences: The Beginning

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷

There is no word to describe the feeling of waking up and knowing instantly that something is terribly wrong. If there were, you would use that word when Klaus and the dawn wake you up, but not Uncle Monty.

You sit up, and find that Uncle Monty’s favorite iguana, Raymond Ditmars, is sitting on your nightstand. When you meet Klaus’s eyes, you see they reflect the feeling of anxiousness you have. The two of you run into the hallway, where you nearly bump into Violet.

“Something’s wrong,” she says quickly.

“We know,” you say nervously.

“Uncle Monty!” Klaus yells, as he runs down the stairs. You and Violet hastily copy him.

When you arrive downstairs, you notice the door to the Reptile Room is cracked open. You all run in, freezing in the doorway when you notice Uncle Monty sitting in the desk chair, perfectly still. Almost… too still.

Everyone knows their time on Earth, along with everyone else’s, is limited. But that doesn’t change how you feel when you see Uncle Monty’s body, the veins on the left side of his face visible and his left eye a piercing blue.

“How could this have happened?” Klaus asks, his voice already thick with tears.

“We know exactly how this happened,” Violet says hopelessly.

“My, my, my, my, my.” You look up to see Count Olaf standing in the doorway. With each ‘my’, his Stephano accent disappears a little more, until he’s back to his regular, menacing voice. “What a terrible accident. Whoever discovers this will be very upset.”

“You murdered him!” Klaus yells.

Count Olaf jumps down the steps, walking towards you. “Why, Klaus, I’m surprised. 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.”

“Stop it!” you scream. “Stop talking like that.”

“You’re right, there’s no time for chit-chat,” Count Olaf agrees. “We have a ship to catch, and I’d like to board in time to have a bottle of wine before lunch.” He pulls Uncle Monty’s tickets from his pocket. “Peru. We’re going to Peru.”

“We wouldn’t go to the end of the driveway with you, much less international waters,” Violet snaps.

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to take my own luggage.”

Count Olaf walks back over to the doorway, where two suitcases are sitting. He picks up the smaller one, then picks up the larger one, shaking it. As he turns to leave, he bumps the large one against the doorway. A high-pitched shriek comes from the bag.

“Sunny!” Klaus gasps.

Count Olaf begins to leave, and the three of you run after him.

“Let her out this instant!” Violet demands.

“She can’t breathe!” you yell desperately.

Count Olaf loads his suitcases into the trunk of Monty’s car. “I’m so tired of having to explain everything to you. You’re supposed to be so smart, and yet you seem to consistently forget about this.” He turns around as he unsheaths his knife. “I’ll leave some breathing holes for her.”

Before you can stop him, he repeatedly stabs the knife into his suitcase.

“No!” Klaus shouts.