The library's secret

Submitted into Contest #91 in response to: Set your story in a library, after hours.... view prompt

5 comments

Fiction Fantasy

A pool of blood, a dead body lying on the cold floor, and a man standing confused of what just he had seen. It was something he did not expect upon waking up, and to his mind, he knew he was supposed to be in a library.

Yet there he was, looking at the scene that seemed familiar to him.

He was just an ordinary man that works as a teacher that decided to visit a usual library near the university. But he was never the type of person that would do such henious crime.

Rather than being violent, he was more of a gentle giant, a man that all his students look upon to.

He poundered his thought once more, then all the picture became clear. The place which was an old apartment, a combat knife used as the weapon, and a small ring dropped as evidence, all of it was part of the novel he was reading before he lost his conciousness.

But how did he got there, the question that bothered him. He could be asleep yet pain could be felt as he pinch his cheek.

The footsteps of running people befall outside at the hallway, forcing the sealed door open. But he didn't not bother on waiting and went to leap into the window, for who was at the time being, was the infamous Jack the ripper.

His sweat became intense as his heart pounded in fear, and the door broke open. To his luck, he manage to escape, and thus, clearing the vision of the horrific space.

He was back at the library but everything was dark and empty. No people were left except for him, and the closed book he was reading had glowing red lights that dimly fades each second.

Confusion struck him on how he got into that imaginary world, but discarded the thought to return the book to where it bellongs and finally go home.

But as soon as he stopped by the shelves, nausea attacked, and within a snap, he was in a different world.

A fresh breeze swayed from the bottom of the mountain and there, a dragon flew passed by, shoving an intense gust of wind that send him to him knees.

He was now a knight that wields a sword and shield in his both hands. The plates surrounding him were heavy yet his physic made it possible for him to carry the weight.

With a massive roar, the dragon came back and spewed flames that set the forest into flames. His shield became blazing hot to even be carried, and the sword he possesed was dropped in surprise.

There was no way to defeat such thing for it had domain on both the land and air, breath that roast every thing it wanted, and scales stronger than iron. He knew the only way he could survive was to run.

Yet no matter how he flee, his path was being blocked by an invissible barrier. The barrier of the scene, which only took place on the singe page of the book. He can't ran from it, and the only way he could escape was to find something that could flip the scene. He had to defeat the dragon.

He returned to where the had dropped the blade, and faced the foe that traps him in the inescapable place. And as soon as they meet eye to eye, he threw the blade straight to the dragon eye, sending it back to the bottomless chasm.

It ended, and now, he was back to the real world. Yet he was too afraid to go into any adventure anymore and rushed to find his way towads the exit.

Yet his haste caused him to fall from the mezanine, and down to the floor he was dropping. But not single dent caused him any injures for a floor was not the thing that caught him, but cold water that sent chill all over his body.

He was in another new world, filled with penguins and seals, and the clothe he wears were made of fur jacket.

It wasn't one of the novels he had stuck in, for his escape lead him back outside, yet as he went across another shelve, his body cross another fate once more.

The place was rather normal, if he'd exclude the measure of everything. The height of the building, the roads, and even the movement of every person were followed by lots of numbers. He even spotted a person named Jack who ate apples and kept asking how many he had left.

Being a teacher, he knew what type of book where he had gotten into but even him didn't want to stay for too long for it was a book he wasn't quite fond of.

It was math.

But to escape, he had to solve gasilion of questions, passing every gate keeper that kept asking for how many apples they had left. Good thing it was basic elementary math, or he would have been trapped for eternity, solving problems he once slept off during class.

His return only lasted for a second as the imaginary world took him back into another chaotic world.

The sound of rapid lead, the cries of men for their comrades, and the explosion that till the ground with large craters. He was in the batteground of a world war.

But of all he had faced, it was the one his heart couldn't take. He had histories with guns, and one had taken the life of someone important to him.

He cower in fear, hiding beneath the piles of body of same uniform he had, as someone's shadow shades his ground, and from his back, a hand crept that pulled him out.

In surprise, he shoved it and found the young librarian staring with a shock face. Then he notice the sun had already meet the surface, and the shop was once more open.

Apparently, the owner was a witch in hidden, and the young teacher accidentally found her secret. The secret of the hidden world inside books in her library. She apologizes for what had happened, and even though he was terrified out of his system, he couldn't bare to put an anxious face.

For the true reason he comes and go, was to take a glimpse of the owners lovely face.

April 25, 2021 11:29

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5 comments

Mohamed Sarfan
04:48 Jun 18, 2021

Dear Writer, I can feel a strange experience in the library today. I love books; I love reading. But, today when I turn the pages of a book, the narration of this takes me into the magical sense, that I was like a bird flying there. I was counting the mysteries that counted as Newton's last apples along the path the characters traveled. I appreciate this story as a very good fiction. Write more Congratulations

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16:18 May 01, 2021

Nice, I liked it! You are good!

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Yaj Imagination
23:58 May 01, 2021

I'm thankful that you liked the story. Your feedback makes me happy. 😊

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Ashley Fouts
15:51 May 01, 2021

Love this story hope you win

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Yaj Imagination
23:55 May 01, 2021

Thank you! I really do hope so too. But there's still much for me to climb in the ladder of experience. That said, I really appreciate and love your feedbacks to my story.

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