Alien Adventure in the Library

“Shhhh.” She peers over her glasses, spittle flying onto the cover of the hardback as she places it on the reshelving cart. Placing a finger against her lips she shakes her head.

Janie, eyes wide, nods at the librarian.

“Ralphie,” Janie jabs him in the gut with her elbow. “You got us in trouble. I never get in trouble.”

“We ain’t in no trouble.” Running his hand across the tender spot Janie left. “She just told us to hush. I’ve been in trouble, this ain’t trouble. Come on.”

Pushing in the chair Ralphie left out in the aisle, Janie glances and smiles at the librarian as she watches them with eyes like an eagle searching for prey. Janie wonders if Ralphie knows or cares that the librarian is watching them as she follows him. Janie, not wanting it to be obvious they were moving away from the circulation desk, stops at a few of the freestanding bookshelves feigning interest in several of the books. Realizing she is in the adult section where books on the ‘birds and the bees’ were she quickly put the book back and found Ralphie.

“What took you so long?”

Pulling out the chair Janie shook her head. “I didn’t want her to know we were getting away from her.”

“You’re weird.”

“Nah-uh. You’re weird.” She elbows him again harder this time.

“Ugh.” Ralphie groans and leans forward. On the floor below his face, he sees two ugly brown basket-looking shoes and he just knew the librarian has found them.

“I warned you two. I am not one to discourage children from being in the library, but if you cannot sit quietly and respect others, you will be made to leave. Is that understood?” They nod. “Excuse me?”

Janie shakes her head intensely. “Yes ma’am.”

Ralphie, not so concerned replies, “Yeah.”

“Here.” The librarian places a book on the table between them. “It just came in today and children your age are effusing about it.”

Ralphie’s right eyebrow shoots up. “They’re whating over it?”

Janie cocks her head, “Duh. Effusing. You know. Gushing, raving. They like it.”

For the first time, the librarian cracks a smile. “That is correct. Very good. Children have been waiting for this book to come to the library, but I will tell you what. If you can sit here quietly and read it, I will hold off putting it on the shelf.”

Ralphie cuts his eyes at the book for a quick look. Sitting up, back straight, hands folded on her lap, Janie peers at the book.

“What’s that? A UFO?” Ralphie finally reaches for the book.

“Oh yes and so much more.” The stern librarian turns and as she walks away tells them, “Enjoy.”

Scrunching up his nose Ralphie fans the pages. “This is a chapter book. That’s too much.”

Taking the book from him and turning to the last page Janie says, “It’s only one hundred eighty-four pages. We will take turns reading it, but we must be quiet.”

“I don’t want to whisper the whole book. Come on.” He grabs the book and her hand and leads her down the hall. He cracks open the door and peers in at the quiet, warm stairwell. He points at a spot along the entrance of the stairs where a couple of reshelving carts sit off-kilter.

“If we move the carts under the stairs, we can sit along the wall and read as loud as we want.” Ralphie lifts the side with the broken wheel and maneuvers it under the stairs.

“Will we get in trouble?”

“No silly. No one uses the stairs. Too lazy. Besides, all that’s up there is those big books that don’t leave the library.”

Carts moved, they settle in, backs against the wall. Janie begins.

They knew they should not be there. “No trespassing!” A big white sign with red letters nailed to the tree warned. They knew it was off-limits, but there they were playing by the creekbed with the old house on the other side of the creek. “Beware!” They passed another.

Janie pauses then says, “These kids sound like you.”

“Just read, will ya?”

Molly looking at the beware sign asked, “Should we be here? We might get in trouble.”

“Haha! That sounds like you.” Janie scrunches up her nose at Ralphie and continues through chapter one. “That chapter went quick. Keep reading.”

Rolling her eyes, she continues. “What was that sound?” Molly’s voice cracked as asked. “We should leave.” Come on scaredy-cat the boys pushed her to the front as the whirling, whooshing sound continues.

Janie brings the story to life using changes in tone and pauses for effect. Ralphie, curious, is listening as she draws him in. 

As they approached the spaceship, Ben grabbed Molly’s hand and pulled her back, behind him. The three boys and Molly, behind Ben, got closer, closer, and then…

Clang, clang, crash! Completely engrossed in the book, they jump as they look up in the direction of the commotion. Silence. Ralphie shrugs and points at the book. Janie lingers, looking up the stairs.

From the center of the spaceship a slide dropped down. Curiously, but cautiously Ben stepped closer and looked up the slide into the spaceship. There he saw something purple peering back at him from over the edge. He stumbled backward, and the others asked what he saw.

 “What’d he see? What’d he see?” Ralphie impatiently asks.

“It,” pause, “was,” eyes wide, “purple with, with,” pause, shook his head, “four eyes across its, its,” pause, shrug “face?” They did not believe him and all of them gathered around the slide and looked up. Just then a breeze began from the hole atop the slide, and as they looked up and saw the being, the breeze was like ice. Only it was not cold, but it kept them frozen in their spots. Trying to break free was impossible. Then like a vacuum, they were slowly sucked up toward the opening. Try as they might, arms nor legs could move. As they entered the opening, the four-eyed, purple being opened what was the equivalent to its mouth and said…

Meow. Ralphie shakes his head and says, “Meow?”

“No, Ralphie. That meow came from up the stairs. Let’s go find it and let it out of the building.”

“But the book! It’s a good part!”

“The poor kitty must be scared. Come on. Don’t worry, we’ll finish it.”

They hear a distressed meow as the patter of their shoes reverberate in the stairwell. They go up the next set of steps and through the door to the second floor. Silence. Nothing moves and the lights are off.

“Ralphie, slow down before you-” Clanging, banging, and Ralphie crying out was the last thing Janie hears before silence again. There is not a crack of light shining in the room and Janie gets turned around, having no idea of where the door is.

“Ralphie! Ralphie answer me. This is not funny. You are scaring me.”

She gets on her hands and knees and crawls slowly around the room. “Ouch!” Rubbing her shoulder, she feels around in the dark and realizes there is a table in front of her. She gently, slowly feels around and realizes the clanging sound is pots and pans, and they are all over the floor. Concerned about Ralphie but still not sure if he is playing a trick on her, she feels around the floor just to her left and grabs a sneaker, then another. “Ralphie!” She feels for his face. Turning his head toward her to listen for his breathing, she pulls her hand back quickly. A warm, sticky substance on his forehead covers her hand. Knowing this is bad, she picks a direction and starts crawling, right into the door.

Almost taking flight, she flies down the stairs and out the door. Breath coming in harsh spurts, she finds the former disciplinarian-turned-friend and opens her mouth to speak. Like a bowl of alphabet soup, finding words is difficult. Understanding enough to tell her assistant to call an ambulance, she follows Janie up the stairwell.

“No lights,” Janie blurts out in a burst of breath. Just before the librarian opens the door, she flips on the row of lights at the top of the stairs. More concerned for the safety of the cat, Janie and Ralphie had not seen the lightswitch.

As they enter the room, Janie sucks in the air and freezes at the sight of her friend Ralphie on the floor, blood on his forehead and face. The librarian runs past Ralphie and turns left into a room. Wet paper towels in hand, she sits on the floor next to Ralphie and places the cold paper towel on his head. He moans and turns his head, but his eyes remain closed.

As she wipes the blood from his face the wail of the ambulance announces its approach then stops. Janie looks toward the window and sees the red and white strobe lights bouncing off the walls below on the neighboring building.

Janie hears the smacking of their feet on the stairs matching her heartbeat, and as the EMTs come through the door, she gets out of their way. She watches as they check his vitals and put him on the stretcher. The librarian points to the elevator. She unlocks it, and they leave with Janie’s friend.

“We will let them go down first,” the librarian tells Janie. No response. She turns to Janie who has tears sliding down her pink cheeks. She gets down on a knee in front of Janie. “I have someone contacting his parents right now, and I am sure they will meet the ambulance at the hospital. I think he will be fine. Now, let’s go down and call your parents.”

When Janie’s parents arrive, her father takes her to the car as her mom talks with the librarian. At home, Janie’s mom helps her get ready for bed and tells her they will call and check on Ralphie. Exhaustion from the stress of the night has her fighting to acknowledge. She closes her eyes.

“Janie,” her mom shakes her gently. “Come on. Get up. We are going to the hospital to see Ralphie.” She jumps up and is downstairs before her mom is ready.

“So he is okay, mom?”

“Yes, dear. His head hurts and he has quite a gash. Oh, and his eye is black and blue, but he will be fine.”

Janie sighs deeply and smiles.

Janie’s mom shuts the door and buckles her seat belt. “The librarian called this morning and thinks she knows what happened yesterday. She went upstairs to clean up the mess after we left. She could barely hear over the noise of gathering the pots and pans, but she thought she heard a cat. When she turned the corner, a cat was sitting in the aisle licking its paw. She guesses the cat came in with a repairman when he came in to fix the water leak on the second level. The cat is now back outside the library. The pots and pans are part of something new they are trying where people can borrow things as well as books and videos. They were storing them upstairs until needed.”

“Oh.” Janie looks thoughtful. “I bet the cat knocked them down when we heard all the clanging and banging, and then that is what Ralphie tripped on.”

At the hospital, she fast walks ahead of her mom after she tells her the room number. She turns the corner and knocks on his door. Ralphie’s mom tells her to come in. As Janie sees Ralphie sitting up in the bed with a bandage the size of an envelope across the side of his face and forehead and bruising covering his right eye, her hand goes to her chest, and she softly whimpers.

“Ralphie! You’re okay!”

He laughs then cringes. “Ouch. It hurts to laugh.”

“Then don’t laugh.”

“Don’t make me then.”

“Children.” They turn to look at Ralphie’s mom. “Do you think you two can give it a break? Maybe just for today?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay. We are going to the cafeteria for some coffee and for me to get out of this room. Be good.”

As they turn to leave, Janie’s mom turns back. While searching for her wallet, she remembers something. “Here,” she hands Janie a book, “the librarian gave me this yesterday after you went to the car. She felt sure you would want to finish it so she signed it out for you.”

When they leave the room, Janie asks if he wants her to read.

Ralphie smiles. “I already know what happens next. They are still floating when the purple guy says, ‘Sqablerblechblech.’ He presses something on his stomach area and speaks again. ‘Welcome.’ Then he introduces them to the rest of the aliens in the spaceship. Blue, yellow, red, green, and purple aliens are all around the ship. Then they bring up the slide and fly off with the kids still inside. Other stuff happens and they are never heard from again.”

Janie’s jaw drops. She looks at the book then squints at Ralphie, wondering when he finished reading the book.

“I was with them on the spaceship. I don’t know how it happened, but I was there. There is more to the story, but I was told I could never tell anyone what happened after we flew off. See, in their world, they find the last friend who saw the person and, well, then the alien pushes on his stomach and starts talking in his language so I don’t know what he said they would do to you Janie, so I ain’t telling you what happened.”

Eyes wide, she swallows hard then asks, “Are you sure the doctors said you’re okay?”

“Yes, go on and open the book and see for yourself.”

Janie opens the book to where they left off. As he watches her lips moving while she reads the next few lines, he smirks. As she looks up, he laughs so hard he cries out in discomfort.

“You’re so stinking ornery, Ralphie!” She turns abruptly and opens the door.

“Aww come on. I was just playing with ya, Janie. Don’t leave. Please stay and finish the book.”

It was her turn to smirk. “On one condition.” He nods. “You never try to write a book. That was a terrible ending.”