The Library and the Beasts

Laura's trembling fingers caressed the ancient leather-bound book of spells. She opened the heavy tome as dust particles snowed in a small town library tucked against the eastern edge of a northeastern state. A feeling of destiny raced through her veins.

Laura loved her library, a place of dreams and secrets. But now the town was under siege from mysterious creatures. She felt a strange sense of security here, as if some unknown force was protecting them. A few townspeople had found refuge in the library. Would the books provide an answer to ward off the monsters? Laura opened the ancient book of spells, searching for a way to protect them all.

As she read, Laura felt the power of knowledge, wisdom and strength grow inside her. She realized that the answer to sending the monsters back to the shadows could be found in this library. She put down the book when it wasn't helpful and began looking for another, hoping to repel the creatures before they found their way in.

Earlier that day.

Excited to be the new Head Librarian at Northeast Falls Library, Laura had decided to live near her office. This morning, instead of the usual lively sounds, a rumble like thunder filled the street. Suddenly, the ground shook and Laura grabbed onto a street lamp for stability as chaos ensued: people clinging to trees and railings, cars crashing into each other, fire hydrants breaking free, trees snapping in half, and telephone poles collapsing. She watched in horror as life struggled for balance.

Laura clung to a street lamp during the earthquake, thankful that it held firm. When she looked around, there were a few people on the ground, but no serious injuries. Hesitant of aftershocks, Laura hurried to the library.

When she made it inside, she found the place in complete disarray. Books had fallen off shelves, and bookcases lay toppled over one another. Laura felt her heart sink as she realized the enormity of the damage. She quickly assessed the situation and made a plan to tidy up as best she could until more help from staff and a few volunteers arrived.

Nearly an hour went by and she was still working on getting some books organized on the shelves when she heard someone enter the library.

"Hello? Excuse me. I was wondering if anyone is in here?"

Laura was confused as she had turned on the lights earlier, as per the opening checklist, even though the place was still a mess. She looked up from the pile of books she had stacked near the science fiction and fantasy section to see a teenage girl and boy enter the building.

"Yes. I am here." Laura waved from behind her stack. 

"Oh well, we were hoping to find someone." The teens came to Laura. They were keeping close to each other, a skinny boy with disheveled hair underneath a black hat, and a girl with wild red hair, when they found Laura the boy wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, leaning into her. Laura suspected they were a couple. 

"What can I help you two with?"

The girl continued. "Well, we were on our way here to get started on our final paper for school, then that earthquake hit and it kind of made us want to get here faster." The two teens looked around the library, assessing the damage.

"Though it looks like you're having trouble of your own."

Laura thought she made a mistake opening the library now and thinking it best to close for the day, but staying to clean up.

Then another tremble started shaking whatever shelves were left standing, but unlike the first one, this only lasted several seconds.

Laura looked around to see if any more shelves fell down, thankfully only a few books. The teenagers gripped to the nearest table; the boy wrapping his hand around the girl. Laura's suspicion of the young couple's relationship confirmed.

"Was that an aftershock?" asked the boy.

"I believe it was. I know little about earthquakes, but we could have some more aftershocks before it's over." Laura got up and noticed the entrance door opening. 

Walking in was an older man, possibly in his 60s, with a bushy white beard and hair. He seemed flustered in his polo shirt that had some dirt on it. 

"Excuse me, but do you have a bathroom?" The older man practically ignored the teenagers and had gone straight for Laura, not wanting to interrupt his mission. 

Laura stared at him for a moment.

"Yes, go straight back and to your left."

"Thank you." The older man proceeded towards his destination. When the bathroom door closed, Laura and the teens trade awkward glances.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," said the boy.

The girl smiled at her boyfriend's phrase and looked at Laura.

"I'm Sophia, and this is Tyler," she held out a hand and Laura instinctively shook it. Then, after hesitating a moment, Tyler shook her hand as well.

"Do you need help with putting away your books?" asked Sophia.

Laura thought for a moment. "Well, technically yes, but don't you have a paper to research on?"

"Well, yes, but it looks like you need more help than we do."

"No. That's alright. Unfortunately, what you are looking for may not be where you can find them right now, but all I can say for now is try your best."

The two teenagers exchanged nods and made their way towards the reference section. The books were completely jumbled, yet this did not deter them from their quest for knowledge. Their eyes scanned through the piles of books, searching for the one they needed. 

The older man came out of the bathroom and looked at the chaos that made up the library's interior. 

"Quite a mess, isn't it?" The older man stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Laura nodded. "Yes, it's going to take some time to get everything back in order."

The older man stepped closer to Laura, his eyes filled with concern. "Do you think it's safe to be in here? I mean, with all the earthquake activity?"

Laura looked around, considering his question. "Well, we're in an old building, so there's always some risk. But the library seems to have held up pretty well during the initial quake, so I think we'll be okay for now."

The older man nodded, seeming to take some comfort in her words. "Good. I was worried there for a minute. My wife is at home alone, and I need to get back to her before anything else happens."

Laura offered her sympathies. "I hope she's okay."

The old man gave a tight-lipped smile. "She'll be fine. She's resourceful, especially when nature strikes. She survived four hurricanes and flash floods when she used to live on the Gulf coast."

"Oh, well, she must be very resilient." Laura was too distracted from organizing the books, and reluctant to get into any conversation at the moment. As she was looking through the books, she noticed that one of them was much older than the rest, one that looked to be practically ancient relative to the others. At first she was holding it like any other book, but then she carefully lifted it up with both hands and carried it over to the nearest table. She set it down as gently as she could, like it was some type of religious artifact, and given its aged look, it might in fact be one. 

"What have you got there, miss?" asked the older man.

Laura didn't answer for a moment, not even hearing what he said. "Oh. I...don't know. It seems really old for some of these other books. Most of these are relatively new." Laura started opening the book, instead there was a loud bang outside. All four people looked to the entrance. Tyler got up and started to the door. Laura, feeling it her duty as head of the library, also went to check out the disturbance.

When Tyler and Laura opened the door, chaos filled the street. Smoke veiled a large hole in the middle, which people fled from before stopping to investigate. Laura and Tyler were among them.

Then out of the ground a giant claw, followed by another, came out of the hole and the people started to scream and run away. Laura and Tyler froze in shock, unsure of what to do next. Suddenly, a monster emerged from the hole; its body towering over the people. It was a giant creature with scales covering its body, its eyes glowing red with rage. Smaller creatures resembling cockroaches skittered around the base of the larger creature. People scattered in all directions, running for their lives.

Laura grabbed Tyler's hand and started running in the opposite direction of the monster. They could hear the creature's footsteps behind them; its massive body shaking the ground with each step. They made their way back into the library and quickly shut the doors. The keys still on her, Laura quickly locked them.

They backed away from the entrance and made their way to the others. Tyler rejoined Sophia while the older man went to Laura.

"What happened? Was there an explosion?"

"There... there was a monster..." Laura couldn't believe what she was saying.

"A monster? Pfft. What do you mean?"

"It was huge...like a dinosaur, but nothing like I've seen on TV," said Tyler. 

Laura wasn't sure why, but it seemed a weird coincidence that she would find such a strange book right before a hole opened up in the ground and strange creatures come out of it.

The older man looked at them all skeptically. "I think you're all just a little shaken up from the earthquake. There's no such thing as monsters."

But Laura knew what she saw. And as she looked over at the ancient book on the table, she couldn't help but wonder if it held any clue to what was happening outside. She picked it up, flipping through the yellowed pages until she came across a passage written in a language she didn't recognize. But as she stared at it, the words seemed to shift and rearrange themselves until they formed something she could understand. 

"The earth trembles and the ancient beast awakens from its slumber. Its minions shall rise and cover the land in darkness. Only the chosen one can defeat the beast and restore balance to the world."

Laura's heart raced as she read the prophecy. Could it be possible that she was the chosen one? She had always felt there was something special about her, some purpose she could attain. Though that seemed overdramatic.

As she looked through the decrepit pages, she could see that there should be more to it, but it seemed several pages were missing. She would need to consult other sources if she was to find out what the prophecy meant and how to defeat the monsters. There was an older part of the library, one that was practically forbidden, not for superstitious reasons but that the books were so old only an expert could handle them. Laura was training to be one, so she could have complete access to the entire library.

"I'm going to have to go downstairs." She looked at the older man, feeling some sense of comradeship with him because of the ongoing events. 

"I'm sorry, sir, but I didn't catch your name."

The man hesitated. "Oh, I think you're right. I am Isaac, Dr. Isaac Reynolds of Northeast Falls University. I was just on my way to work until the earthquake hit... I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I need to go downstairs to find an important book. Can you keep an eye on the library and the kids for me?"

"Oh, uh, sure, ma'am. I can do that. I'll just sit down here and keep an eye on the place for you. May I ask why are you looking for a book at a time like this?"

"I think it would be hard to explain right now since I don't fully understand it myself, but I need to find a certain book that may be related to this one." She pointed at the one on the table and left before Isaac could say any more. 

Laura headed to a door in the back of the library leading to the basement. 

She hadn't looked through all the books yet, but she knew which one to look for - a worn book that reminded colleagues of Lovecraft or King. They started calling it "The Necronomicon".

She descended a winding staircase until she reached her destination. The air was still and stale, the lighting dim and overly harsh at some points. As she walked through the stacks of books, all of them dating back to the mid 1700s, Laura searched for anything that might be like the one she found earlier.

She ran her fingers along some spines, feeling for any type of raised lettering or symbols that pointed it out as special. After several minutes with no luck, she inspected inside each one. She started off by flipping through pages slowly, but soon gained speed as she became more proficient in reading the ancient words and phrases printed on every page.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, Laura spotted an old leather bound tome. This was the one she was looking for. Excitedly, Laura opened it up and gasped at what she saw, an illustration depicting an enormous creature similar to what she saw from the hole outside. 

Then just as she had found in the one from the Fiction section, she also found a reference to the same prophecy: "The earth trembles and the ancient beast awakens..." she kept reading until she found what may have been the missing parts from the other book. She believed that the newer one must have been the work of someone trying to copy this ancient text. She went to the only computer in the room and opened up a word document. After a few minutes, she typed the text from the book and saved it to the library's server. This way, she could find and open it upstairs.

She placed the book back and ran upstairs to join the others.

"Where have you been?" asked Sophia.

"I had to find something... what's happened outside?"

"Some of those cockroach - looking things tried to get in but gave up. Probably found something else to eat."

Laura went to the nearest computer and logged in, then once she found the document, she sent it to the printer. The others were a little confused by what she was doing, but they weren't sure what to say.

After grabbing the papers and stapling them, Laura headed to the entrance. She took out her key and opened the door. From outside, she could hear screams and loud crashes. People were running in fear from some creatures that appeared to be destroying the town. Laura had seen nothing like it - these dark, insectoid looking creatures were tearing through buildings and eating anything in their way.

Laura knew now was the time to act. She pulled out the papers she had printed and read aloud from them:

"Let those who are of flesh be warned, for a great darkness shall come upon this land, bringing with it an ancient terror that will consume all. Only one can save us from this fate - one who holds the power of knowledge as a shield against destruction."

A brilliant light illuminated the creatures, and they paused in their rampage to look at Laura. Reading aloud, she watched them shake and fit as their bodies dissolved. By the time she finished the passage, only the monster's head was left before it too disintegrated with a failed attempt to scream.

Laura felt a surge of energy as she kept saying the words. Sophia, Tyler and Isaac came out of the library and saw Laura still chanting from the pages. They looked around to see if there were more danger, but didn't find any. Sophia walked in front of Laura, who was practically shouting the words from the book.

“Ma'am" Sophia waved her hands. The earthquake shook them, making Sophia lose balance and knock Laura's papers to the ground. Laura ceased chanting and fainted.

An hour later Laura woke up laying on a sofa and noticed the two teens and the older man sitting around her. 

"Uh... does anyone have any water?" As soon as Laura spoke, Tyler handed her a paper cup from the table in between them.

"What happened?" Laura was still feeling a little fuzzy but completely aware.

"You were chanting some spell from those papers you printed up and couldn't stop. Once I got the papers away from you, you fainted," said Sophia.

"Where are the papers?"

"In the trash." said Isaac. "The recycling bin. I also took the liberty of shredding them just in case."

"I would have done the same thing. Thank you."

A moment of silence permeated the room.

"What just happened?" Tyler broke the silence.

"I believe some creatures from some other dimension, or possibly hell, or whatever you want to call it, invaded the town, and I found a book with a spell that stopped them."

"I know this library is one of the oldest buildings in the state. The basement must hold some ancient knowledge." Said Isaac.

"I believe it does and I'm afraid those monsters may not be the last of them."

"How do you know that?" asked Tyler.

"That spell came from just the first few pages of the book I found."