Curse of Emerald

A range of books leaned against each other on the frail shelves of the indie bookshop. Nico strolled back and forth, his eyes drifting left and right as he deciphered the labels on each cubbyhole. Science, English, Fiction, Non-fiction…Mystery? The compartment didn’t even have a single book, which piqued Nico’s interest. Why would there be such a section when nothing was there at all? What a waste of space, he thought. He faced the old man who was sitting at the counter, lost in his mini animatronics.

“Excuse me, Mr. B, why aren’t there any books on this shelf?”

Mr. Barney looked up at him, his focus turning to the shelf.

“Ah, that my boy has run out of books. Disappointing, really.” He sighed, picking on his usual red checkered shirt.

However, Nico wasn’t convinced. He looked closely at the old man, an expression of worry forming on his face.

Nico swirled around, facing the bookshelf. Nothing. He squinted at the empty area. Still nothing…or was it?

He noticed an average sized book, cleverly hidden amongst the dark shadows. Nico stood on his tip toes, grabbing the book. An emerald green cover caught his eye, with gold patterns around the corners. He buckled under the weight of the book, although it looked just like a normal one. On the cover, written in gold, said “Death Awaits”.

He placed the book on the counter with a grunt; his forehead beaded with sweat. A look of amusement flashed across the old man’s face.

“How much is this one, Mr. B?”

“That one is not for sale I’m afraid.” Mr. B responded; his hands, as if they had a life of their own, tinkered with his ‘Funko pops’.

“But if I could trade- “

“No, Nico. You can’t trade either,” Mr. B cut him off, a stern look on his face.

“That book is not a normal one lad. It has been spotted in all the areas where mysterious disappearances occurred. Who knows what will happen.”

Nico sighed. He knew that no matter what he said the bookshop owner would never agree. He paced, thinking of what he could do. He blew the hair out of his face every now and then, lost in thought. Just then, a crazy idea popped into his mind.

“Mr. B! Watch out! There's a…a swarm of bees behind you!” Nico exclaimed, suppressing a laugh.

Mr. B, as gullible as he was, turned around in fear. Nico snatched the book and ran out of the bookshop and down the pavement, snickering at his own idea. He bolted down the street, the distant screams to call 911 of the old man ringing in his ears. Surprisingly, the book got lighter as he ran, as if encouraging him to carry it further. The wind blew through his hair, his faced stretched into a smile. He ran in between people and jumped over road barriers. His black ‘Levi’s’ jacket billowed in the wind, golden leaves swirling from the trees. Finally, he halted at a tall building in the middle of nowhere.

Nico looked up at the building, its walls peeling with white paint. He had always thought of the apartment as a squashed potato forced to be squashed even more. He scanned his card on the scanner and got on the lift.

He pressed the 25th floor button, the robotic booming voice echoing through the lift. He gagged at the smell of the sanitizer dispenser, The Backstreet Boys playing leisurely through the speaker. As the lift moved, Nico checked out his book, his hand tracing the patterns of the green cover. He glanced at the security camera of the lift and back at his book. His hand reached out to flip the first page.

A chill ran down his spine as a whisper laughed at the back of his head, causing him to doubt his choices on whether to open it or not. Nico’s hand hovered over the top of the book, the book starting to look more sinister to him than mysterious. That’s silly, Nico, he thought. It’s just a book, what could be so bad? Hence, he flipped the book open, a mixture of excitement and fear pulsing throughout his body. His adrenaline rushed, ready to face whatever was in the book.

Nothing.

It was just a normal book. A picture of a skull was right below the heading ‘Chapter 1.’ Nico was utterly disappointed. So much for a random book? It wasn’t fair. Knowing that he had no choice, he began reading the book.

‘Once upon a time, a young boy nicked a book from the local bookshop.’

His face paled. That was exactly what he did few minutes ago. He realized that the lift started to slow down. Maybe it was just a coincidence, he told himself and kept reading.

‘He ran back home with the book, unaware of the danger it possesses. He opened it and started reading it once he got in the lift, scared, and excited.’

Nico shuddered. He told himself that it was a coincidence, however deep down he knew it wasn’t. ‘Being scared is silly, Nico,’ his mother used to tell him. Gathering his courage, he looked back at the book.

‘The boy, Nico, wasn’t very sure with reading the tale, afraid that it would cause him a memory he would never forget’.

By now, Nico knew that it wasn’t just a book. His eyes widened as he kept reading, not realizing that the lift came to a stop, the ‘I Want It That Way’ changing to a chilling horror tune.

‘Just then, as he kept reading, he realized he made a mistake.’

The following sentences were in a blur. He tried to close the book shut but he couldn’t. It was stuck. Just then, new words formed on the page.

‘After a while of reading, a dozen scary men walked in. They held onto Nico and wouldn’t let him go.’

Nico stifled a laugh. He imagined a bunch of wrestlers gripping him as if he was their trophy. That was hysterical. But then, the lift went ding! Nico’s body shivered, although it wasn’t cold at all in the lift. The door opened with a thud.

A dozen transparent men, walked into the lift. They wore grey muscle t shirts, their insides visible. Nico flipped the pages backwards, hoping there was something he could do to prevent the bodyguard men from stretching him. His breathing was shallow, and his heart raced. John Adams, Joanna Pomfrey, Sermount Willams… all these people he had seen on the TV. That’s why the people had gone missing. That’s why Mr. B said that it was always there at crime scenes. No one had murdered them. It was a book. A silly little book.

The page with his story on it flipped back on its own. Words swam before his eyes. He read the last lines, the men grabbing at his shirt.

‘Hmm… What should I write next? Ah, right. You’re 15. You are too young to die. I guess I could spare your life. I would just have to make this as excruciating as possible. That’s saddening. Wait a sec…where are my manners? I’m Megan. And I like to make people’s life a temporary living hell.’

The book slammed shut on its own, with Nico scared to death. He glared at the men, collecting his thoughts. He was the troublemaker. Of course he had to have a plan. The men carried him and started tossing him, just as the book had described. The book was still in his hand. Maybe there was something he could do with it.

He fumbled for the pen he always carried with him in his pocket and flipped the book, holding the page tightly so as to not let the book flip on its own. He scribbled through the wordings on the page, hoping that everything would be reversed. With the men’s strong grip, he was struggling to hold on to his pen and book. They sure had unnatural strength. He drove his pen through the paper, doing it as fast as he can, the men digging their nails into his skin while cackling. Words flickered on the page, unable to form completely. It was working. The further he poked his pen, the more the voice purred from the back of his head to stop. The loving, alluring charm speak soon turned into a scream for help. But Nico didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of this terror. A final scream roared in his ears as he poked the paper one last time.

The words stopped flickering. The men disappeared with a growl, causing him to land with a thud. The lift started moving again. The horror theme changed back to ‘Staying Alive’. Everything was back to normal.

Nico rubbed the back of his head and got up, every limb of his body aching. Nico smiled to himself. He might have endured excruciating pain, but he was still alive. The lift stopped a few minutes later. He ran out, panting and threw the book out the window near the walkway of the lift. He rang the doorbell. His mom opened the door, heal and healthy as always. A wave of relief washed over Nico. She was all right. He hugged his mom tightly and ran to his room, calling the bookshop owner.

“Mr. B! Mr. B! I think I figured out the reason of all the disappearances!”