LOT'S MOUNTAIN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: Lions and Tigers (well, pigs) and Bears, OH MY!

Diane almost hugs me again before taking off. She doesn't, though. I think she's worried that if she hugs me a second time, she won't let go.

After she's gone, me and Nameless wander around, looking for Grim. Well, I'm wandering around and she's in my arms. So she's stuck going wherever I do. I don't want to take off and leave her somewhere here. I'm pretty sure that some of the things at Belle Lake would find little orange kittens delicious.

Me and Nameless come across some bears with yellow fur that are hanging out with more of the owl-looking things. The owl-monsters click their beaks together real fast when they're mad (like when I tripped over one). There's something that looks like a big chimpanzee with red shaggy fur. It's loping around with three black panther-looking things. There's a shimmery ghost dog thing that's a whitish gray and has one golden eye in the middle of its head. Behind it are four small wolves. Well, wolf-things. They're walking on their back legs and have fingers instead of paws.

It sure would be great to know the names of all the monsters here. Grim was always around to do that.

WHERE ARE YOU, GRIM????

The Huntsman and the Old Bone Woman are off talking. I don't recognize anybody around here. I thought things would be different after getting the Huntsman here. What do I do?

Something next to me grunts real loud.

A small ... herd? pack? school? ... well, a bunch of lion-pigs (I don't know what else to call them). One pauses to snort real loud at me for being in its way. Each one's got a boar's head with two yellow tusks jutting out of its mouth and eyes, like two shiny black marbles, right above its snout. I'm guessing the lion-pigs don't think too much of the wolf-things. As soon as they get close to each other, they shake their heads, like they just bit into something rotten.

I reckon they used to be enemies. I don't know why they don't like each other. It doesn't matter. This is probably the first time a lot of these monsters have been together in the same place. Now they have to work together against the Glass Man.

With all the different kinds of monsters here ... this is looking more like a school dance than monsters getting ready for war. You know, where the weird kid (yeah, that would be me) is off in one corner, holding up the wall. You've got the other ones clinging together in their little groups. Others are strutting around like they own the world.

But that isn't going to be the way to end this war. Shouldn't things be happening? Not them just hanging out, but panicking or getting weapons or something?

The Glass Man's got Jamie, and soon he'll be coming for everyone here. Goddammit! Why aren't they doing something or at least act like there's a war happening all around us? Yeah, the lake's quiet, but what about the town?

Over to the side, some chimp-looking things that are a little shorter than me and have thick red hair with branches and leaves stuck to it are standing with their heads bowed.

Praying? Really? Right now? When I was saying shit about doing something, that isn't what I had in mind.

To each their own, I guess, but I've never been into praying. It never seemed to work anyway. What's going to happen will happen. But seeing the red chimps with their hands together, looking like they're sitting in church ... I don't know, but it makes me want to say something about how I hope somebody's going to make everything okay.

If there is something out there listening, maybe we need all the help we can get.

But this isn't about getting somebody's god to wave their hands and get rid of the Glass Man. This one's on us. I mean, the Glass Man's probably got his own people praying their heads off right now.