Who You Are

Every new arrival was snatched up the moment it hit the shelves, and the ancient register worked flawlessly to send them off. Behind it, Henry caught up with all the regulars who ranted about their lives, raved about a new series, or simply drank coffee with a warm smile.

These days were the ones Henry dreamt about when he built his bookstore from the ground up. Today didn’t fall short of that dream, that is, until he showed up.

Strutting into the store like he owned it, a lanky teenager scanned the isles. He paid no mind to the displays or the soft furniture that lined the walls, instead he looked around until his eyes landed on a section in the back. The boy then beelined towards the supernatural section.

Even though he moved out of sight, Henry found him difficult to ignore. The teen’s tennis shoes were loud against the floor and he dropped enough books that it couldn’t be accidental. He continued to demolish the peace, and Henry found himself shifting towards the breakroom to ask his employee to investigate. He paused as the boy suddenly strode back to the front with a chapter book in his hands. The teen, who couldn’t be older than eighteen, slowed down for the first time as he reached the register.

“I know who you are.” he declared while tossing his book onto the counter. The accusation settled like dust on the bookshelves as Henry met the boy’s aggressive stare.

“And that is?” Henry inquired. His answer came in the form of rough tapping on the book’s cover. He dropped his gaze downward and noted the title. Vampire Plagues. Unimpressed, Henry looked up and found the smug expression on the teen’s face. “Correct, I sell books.”

The expression faltered as the teen examined Henry. In his scrutiny, he failed to notice Henry’s employee finally leaving the breakroom. His focus only failed when a choked sound came from the worker’s throat. In one fluid movement, all the teen’s attention went from Henry to his employee.

Henry thought the teen’s big blue eyes would pop out of his head with how hard he was staring. The pressure of his heavy gaze made the worker wrap his jacket around himself despite how warm the store was.

“What?” The worker asked harshly. His sharp features almost made him as intimidating as the teen if it wasn’t for his black hair falling into his eyes.

The teen said nothing, but he nodded to himself as he pulled the book off the counter. A crooked smile stretched across his face as he turned on his heel. He began to walk towards the exit, leaving the two behind the counter unnerved and filled with questions.

“Archie, are you alright?” Henry asked after the bell above the door announced the teen’s departure.

His employee replied by stating, “We should be worried about that.”

“I’m only worried about the fact he never paid for that book,” Henry admitted, his gaze locked on the door. He couldn’t see which direction the teen went because of the store’s lack of windows. Instead, he imagined the state of the store the teen had left behind.

“I’m going to pick up the mess he left us,” Henry added, already turning away. In his stead, Archie stood at the register with a pinch in his brow.

Henry busied himself with picking up the multitude of books littering the supernatural section floor.It took him nearly an hour to ensure all the authors were placed together, but when he finished he could step back to admire his work.The books were pushed slightly forward so they wouldn’t be shadowed by the dim overhead lights and they filled every open space all the way down to the pale wood flooring.

This section in particular was never under-stocked because the locals adored it. Their culture ran thick with stories of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Henry often got caught in hour-long conversations with customers about their family’s ghost stories or the monster games they played as children. Supernatural beings were like a massive inside joke to his town. It didn’t help there were always rumours floating about these beings living alongside humans.

As much as Henry loves fueling the fire with his books, there are people who take it too seriously. The teenager from this morning is one of them. So infatuated by the idea that there may be supernatural beings among them and hunting them down.

Growing up in this town, Henry knew those people all too well, but he still loved to recommend new books to people curious enough or brave enough to learn more. Currently, he had many titles memorized but there were too many to know them all. This is how Henry came to be standing and studying the book titles with a blank stare. He would have stayed in his trance if it wasn’t for a sudden noise.

“You need to leave!” Archie shouted from the front of the store. Henry blinked his eyes then instantly perked up, rushing over to the source of the noise. He found Archie in a standoff with the teen who they’d just kicked out. The boy was now waving around garlic bread like it was a wand to ward off supernatural evils. The person he subjected to this treatment was Henry’s employee. Strangely, Archie’s shoulders were up to his ears and he leaned away whenever the teen moved too close.

“What’s happening?” Henry demanded.

“I’m saving you and everyone here!” The teen declared while using the bread as a barrier between him and Archie. His answer didn’t satisfy Henry so he lightly pushed the boy towards the door. He noticed Archie worriedly scooting towards him as he did so.

“I found out the truth!” The teen argued, “His reaction proves everything!”

“You haven’t known him for more than an hour,” Henry spit back.

“He isn’t what you think he is,” The teen explained, side-eyeing Archie. The man in question just kept looking between Henry, the teen, and two customers who were eavesdropping on the whole debacle.

“Alright kid, I have to ask you to leave.” Henry commanded while leading the teen closer to the exit. The teen huffed, but upon seeing the small group of people that had accumulated, he listened. He turned his back to Henry and dragged his feet to the door. Before he finally left, the teenager stuffed the garlic bread in his mouth and used a door stopper to prop the entrance wide open. It left a golden beam of sunlight that stopped just on the toes of Henry’s boots.

Archie let out a quiet gasp and kicked out the stopper from behind, pushing the door shut.

“That kid,” He started, “if he shows his face in here again.”

Henry interrupted, “Then we’ll kick him out. He’s young and just wants to cause mischief, no harm done.”

“No harm done? That teenager stole a book, trashed your store, and threatened me!” Archie retorted, wildly throwing his arms up. His efforts only got an exasperated sigh from Henry, who tried to shift the mood.

“Speaking of which, why were you so concerned about garlic bread?” Henry questioned with a curious squint.

Archie, suddenly defensive, started, “I wasn’t! He-”

“Are you two okay?” A customer butt in. It was one of the two who were eavesdropping.

“Yeah, people just never respect retail workers anymore,” Henry jokes.

The other person sighed at that and said, “you’re telling me! I work fast food and lemme tell ya!”

The three laughed together as Archie picked his fingernails on the side. As the conversation slowly died, he helped them buy a couple books and stayed by Henry’s side. A few times he would open his mouth to say something but close it before anything came out.

Finally he built up the courage to say, “I’m just protecting you y’know. The kid is a nuisance.”

“I’m not worried, Archie. He’s not some monster in the night,” Henry replied.

“Yeah, but- nevermind,” Archie fumbled.

It was nearing eight when Archie gave up and glanced down at his watch. He let his shoulders drop as he drifted from Henry and began doing his clean ups for the night. While he was idly wiping down the counter the bell above the door chimed. Pulling on his customer service face, Archie left the rag on the counter and turned.

Standing in the doorway like he had a personal mission, the boy glared. In his hand hung a silver mirror pointed at the ground. He met Archie’s eyes and smirked.

The teen stalked forward and asked, “Where’s your buddy? I’m going to show him exactly what you are.”

“We told you to leave,” Archie repeated firmly.

“I’m not going to let a vampire run loose in my town pretending to be someone they’re not,” The teen responded. “You’re different and that makes you dangerous. Today, you will meet justice. I am Adam Rackie, the hero that’ll end your reign of terror!”

“Keep dreamin’ kid,” Archie responded. With clenched fists, he ate up the distance between him and Adam and snatched the mirror from the teenager’s hands. Before Adam could react, the mirror was shattered on the bookstore’s floor. Pieces of it littered the cozy building and reflected the overhead lights like crystals.

Adam took a stuttering breath and gasped, “I’ll be back!” He turned tail and fled but before he touched the door handle a hand caught the back of his shirt.

“I’m not going to let you cause problems any longer,” Archie stated. Stepping back into the store, he pulled Adam in with him.

The teen flailed and kicked the back of Archie’s knee, causing him to stumble. Adam took the opportunity to spring back and fling open the door. Before Archie could recoup, the teenager gripped onto his arm and pulled him out of the store with him.

Both fell onto the pavement outside. The concrete was still warm from the sun that was nearly tipped under the horizon. Nearly.

Adam sprung up and blocked Archie’s path back inside the store. He watched as the sunlight shone on the man’s pale skin and laughed.

“I won, you vampire! I am the savior of this town, and next I’ll save the rest of the world from you vermin. I am the-” Adam proclaimed, but stopped short. He noticed Archie was just rubbing at his elbows after they’d been scrapped in their fall. Otherwise, he was perfectly fine. In fact, Archie wasn’t even looking at him. His eyes were trained on something behind Adam.

Turning to see what it was, Adam froze. In the doorway, Henry loomed over them both. His face was red from anger and his canine teeth jut out of his mouth, much longer than a normal human’s. His whole demeanor was tense and it reminded Adam of a snake, preparing to strike.

“I haven’t hurt a human in the past century, but I’ll make an exception for you,” Henry sneered, his voice low. “Because I know who you are. I may be a monster from birth, but I’ve never stooped so low as to kill someone just for what they are.”

Adam opened his mouth, closed it, then took a tiny step back. He ran right into Archie who pushed him to the doorway and into the mouth of the snake.

The bell chimed cheerily as the door slammed shut and the sign on the doorway was flipped to closed. The last dying rays of sun illuminated a book in front of the entrance.

Manmade Monsters.