Monster Belt - Chapter 8 Part of the way in..... ‘You’ve got to explain this Monster Belt to me,’ she said, ‘it doesn’t make sense.’ He turned his head, his expression serene. ‘It must be massive,’ she continued, ‘how on earth do you expect to find anything on it, in it, how do you say it?’ He smiled and suddenly helooked tired. She kept forgetting that it didn’t work to treat other people as if they thought and felt the same when they were overwhelmed by their own needs. ‘It’s okay,’ she added, ‘you can tell me another time.’ ‘It’s the area between two latitudes,’ he said as if she hadn’t spoken again, ‘Research shows that it’s where most monsters in the northern hemisphere are reported to be found.’ ‘Who says this?’ said Jess, ‘there are monsters everywhere, not clustered together as if certain countries have a monopoly.’ She stopped. That was something she never admitted aloud. ‘Of course they’re everywhere,’ he said, as though it were evident, ‘the clincher is why more people see them in these latitudes than others.’ She thought for a moment. It should be obvious, some people went looking and others didn’t. Some actively searched for monsters while others stayed where they were, keeping busy so they didn’t see anything they didn’t want to see. Some sought creatures out, some closed their eyes, but that should make an average over the world, even things out in every country, make sightings a level figure whichever latitude you lived on. But she did know why. She knew that the majority followed the crowd and the crowd stuck to the main path; the path carrying coffins across moors, the grassy track leading to the Mere when there must be other lakes, camp sites by Loch Ness and treks in the Himalayas. Only if that was the case then why did she see monsters even when she didn’t venture anywhere?