The House of Grey- Volume 4 by Collin Earl

.”
    Monson really did not know what h is twin was talking about. An “I don’t know what to say,” was all he could muster.
    “Just say you wi ll do what I ha ve told you. I want to keep you safe. I have a bad feeling something is coming , s omething big . I need you stay in control until I figure out what that is. With that being said, do you remember the silver stone that Molly gave you?”
    “Yeah of course, it’s right ... ” Monson reached for ever-present silver stone around his neck . T o his horror , it was not there. “Oh no, what did I do with it?”
    The other Monson start ed to laugh . “ Y ou a re dreaming , remember? The stone is in the real world.”
    “Oh yeah . ” Monson chuckled in relief . “I knew that . I was just seeing if you were paying attention . ”
    “I a m sure you were . ”
    Monson attempted to look solid in his convictions. The clone started to laugh again.
    “Oh dear , ” h e said , wiping tear s from his eyes. “You know Monson , you really make me laugh . T hank you. It ha s been way too long.”
    “Thanks, I think.”
    “Anyway , ” said the other Monson , continuing to wipe his face , “ t he silver gem that Molly gave you , do n o t forget to wear it always . You promised Molly , did you not ?”
    “Yeah , I did. ” Monson paused . “Hey , Monson number two— ”
    “Monson number two ?” t he other Monson interrupted.
    “Well yeah , you haven’t given me a name so I went with what worked. Question for you: Y ou and Brian have an awful lot in common. You don’t know each other , do you?”
    “Brian? As in your butler , Brian ? I know of him , why do you ask ?”
    Monson eyed his counterpart , looking for any signs of recognition . “Because Brian is observant to the point of psychic. You seem to know an awful lot about me as well. Are you sure you don’t know each other?”  
    The other Monson sat in quiet reflection while the real Monson search ed for any sign that he knew Brian . The silence seemed to drag on. Monson finally spoke . “There’s a whole lot that you not telling me , isn’t there ? ”
    The other Monson ’ s gaze again turned out towards the huge river as he breath ed deeply , holding each breath for several seconds. The real Monson sat quietly , waiting .
    “You know , when I was young …. ” T he twin ’ s eyes glazed over . “I use d to play by a river just like this. It i s funny that this world would take on this appearance. It makes me smile. This state of life, I suppose you can call it that , is something new for me and I do not quite know how to react to it. All I can say to you is , thank you.”
    “This state of life?”  A furrow appeared between Monson ’ s eye brow s . “ Y ou make it sound like you ’ r e dead.”
    Before the other Monson could answer , there was a huge explosion of sound that sen t the peaceful world in to turmoil. Birds took off as an unidentified object came t h rashing through the forest. Startled , Monson motioned to his counterpart and read ied himself to fight.
    But there was no need . Monson should have caught the hint when his counterpart remained quite calm, if distinct ly annoyed, as he watched an individual emerge from the trees . Without even realizing how, Monson instantly recognized him.
    The owner of the cold voice stared at Monson.
    Monson felt the strange rush of the familiar as he watched the wild one, his thick black hair hanging long and tousled over a dirty white robe that was ripped in several places.  He grinned maliciously, a sadistic credo manifesting itself in every crinkle of his skin. S i l ver eyes that were both cold and calculating bore down on Monson , suffocating him under their immense pressure. Monson found it hard to breath e . 
    The man stalk ed towards the pair of Monsons and spoke as he neared them .
    “How entertaining , I didn’t miss him . ” He squared up to Monson , staring with unblinking eyes. In an unexpected turn, his hand shot out as if he