Telluric

Chapter XXIV: Welcome to Monotory

XXIV

"Monotory?" Diego asked in confusion, which was present on Mayla's and Noah's faces as well. Clary seemed more terrified than confused however.

"Yes, this is Monotory." Diver claimed calmly, crossing her arms in a knowing manner. "I like to call it Limbo's neighbor... a creepily calm and confusing world, a perfect hiding place for the Gray Ladies I must say." The monochrome landscape seemed to shift like a reflection in water. The gray aura that swallowed the town and the tall silhouette-like trees seemed to encase everything in Monotory as if it were in a snow globe. Diego shifted uneasily at the thought of being trapped in this snow globe-like world. His eyes darted around at the four other faces in this strange world.

He stopped at Noah, who looked fatigued and cluttered as he clutched to the cleaver. Diego took his hand and rubbed it while Noah tried to show his appreciation for the comfort, which was shown in a weak but sincere smile. It was this action that seemed to snap Clary out of her worried expression. She scowled openly at the affection, mainly because of some sort of claim to guardianship towards Noah. Then she remembered something... the tarot cards that that woman had displayed to her. She remembered the lovers... the painted picture of two skeletons embracing each other. Something stirred in the corner of her mind, though it was something she couldn't put her finger on quite yet.

The pop of bubbles in the water broke her train of thought, and everyone turned to the lake. A small green bottle that looked straight out of some castaway movie floated toward the group. Diver picked it up and uncorked it, slipping a piece of parchment that looked like some flyer for a playoff game of football between Graywood and one of their neighboring towns.

"The information I am about to give you is imperative to the succession of your mission. Eradicating, or at least stopping, the Gray Ladies will be difficult if you don't know where to find them, especially in this labyrinth." Diver stopped for a second to take a breather while everyone took in the information. "The first location is the closest to where you are now... the Lake house. Next are the mirrored Clock Tower and the mirrored Graywood Manor. Once you have defeated all three, return to Graywood." The message was signed by both her and Carlos. Diver handed the letter to Mayla, and began walking back out into the water.

"You're not going to help?" Mayla asked.

"Nope." Diver didn't turn to answer. "I can't stray too far from the lake." She said nothing else as she shot down into the water through a ring of glowing orbs. Noah watched her go, staring at the orbs for a few minutes. Mayla stared into his eyes and found trauma, fear, and despair all mixed into one. She couldn't imagine how it would feel to lose all of your family, no matter how horrid they were; or even most of your family. She then looked at Diego, who held Noah's left hand and also stood, watching the lake with intense red eyes that glowed vibrantly against the monochrome landscape. They both seemed to know what it was like to lose family.

Mayla shrugged off the thoughts when Clary cleared her throat worriedly. She lit her fingers and poked each one of the boys, releasing them from their trance with a slight first-degree burn on the neck. They turned to her, Noah still holding on to the cleaver from the Paloma household.

"Sorry to stop your... whatever you were doing, but we need to get moving." Clary rubbed her pale hands, warming them, and twisted the black ring on her finger. She then adjusted the brooch on her black blouse and reconfigured her dark sunglasses. "I don't want to stay here any longer than we need to." The others agreed.

"How about we all go to the lake house and face that one first? Then we can split into groups and find the others." Mayla suggested.

"That seems pretty good." Diego replied, and Noah only nodded.