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"I don't understand," I whispered lowly, as I stared into the darkness. Mara was being surprisingly silent. She stood beside me at the foot of the door, one hand carefully balanced on her hip while the other rubbed softly under her chin. "I... I don't understand. It's... empty."

"Yes, my little vulpine friend." Her expression shifted as I looked up to her. It was something halfway between confusion and awe. "I'm at a loss for words myself."

Everything was gone. It wasn't just the books either. The shelves had disappeared; the chairs and the desks upon which they rested against; even the light fixtures looked like they had been twisted off and removed.

"I don't wish to stay here," I muttered, and turned to leave the building. Something was off. Something was wrong. Mara's large hand grabbed the sleeve of my coat before I could even take a step away. She hadn't moved an inch, but she wasn't willing to let me go either.

"No, Reav. Stay."

"This is wrong, Mara. Can't you see?" I lowered my voice to a hushed whisper. "This is not right. This is not natural. I'll be a lot more comfortable outside, in the sun." I glanced back into the empty chamber, and was reminded of an abandoned warehouse I used to go exploring through as a kid. Concrete floors and high-rising walls.

"We're staying," she spoke with certainty in her voice. Her vice-like grip dragged me backward into the empty library as she took one large step forward. "Look, down that way." She pointed across to the other side of the room. There was a closed door, with a cloudy glass window. It read 'ARCHIVES'. "Certainly, there's something in there."

"There's. Nothing. Here." I pleaded, squirming as I almost lost my footing. "Un... Unhand me!" She stopped and turned me with a forceful shove, leaving me gasping as her two burning eyes squared in on my face. "M-Mara?"

"Listen to me, little fox, and listen to me well because I will not be repeating myself again." The feline almost hissed at me. Her lips curled, showing off just a tiny bit of her ivory fangs. Her voice escalated to a near-shout that burned at my ears. "I am going into that room and you are going to come with me. Do I make myself clear?!"

I nodded, flinching slightly at the droplets of spittle that sprayed against my fur. "I understand. F-Forgive me. Please." A small nervous whimper escaped me as she leaned in more closely. I could taste her breath now. Every time she breathed out it felt like a rush of wind was plowing against my nose. "Forgive me, Mara. Please... forgive me."

Her hand finally let go of its grip against my coat, and the features on her face softened. It wasn't until her brow had relaxed that I felt like I could finally breathe easy. Despite that, her glare wasn't keeping me completely at ease. My feline companion breathed in deep and let go with a soft sigh. She nudged her head and murmured a "Get in there, fox,", then forcefully shoved me toward the center of the empty room.

I stumbled, nearly falling over on my hands and knees as she strode in behind me. Her boots echoed loudly with each heavy footfall.

CLANCK.

The front door shut closed and took with it what little light came in from the outside. We were left in perpetual darkness. I was fumbling with my phone as Mara brushed past me, struggling to turn the flashlight on. I couldn't see past a few feet ahead of me otherwise - Mara didn't seem to mind.

"This can't be right," I hummed, as I lit our way forward once I caught up with Mara Blanco. Thick swirls of dust crossed past the beam of light, reminding me of a thin fog. "That waiter. Why didn't she mention anything."

"She did," murmured Mara. Her voice had finally softened up. It sounded like she was back to her former self - the self that I better knew, at least. "She said there was a library and pointed us in the direction." The Amazonian feline paused, sniffing at the air. I did the same. Years of built up dust and mold gave the air an acrid scent. It took all my will just to keep myself from coughing.

"Didn't say anything about it being empty." I couldn't help but sound a little peeved as I did turn on my heels, forcing the light to cut through the overbearing darkness. Our shadows danced across the walls, swaying left and right as I scanned our surroundings. "Gods. It feels like the air's getting... thicker. Argh! And that stench!" She'd already brought a large hand up to her nose. "Putrid!"

"Whatever it is," mumbled Mara from behind her hand, "it originates from there." She pointed her large finger at the door. The archive room.

One sniff was all it took for me to confirm her suspicions. "M-Mara. Let's head back." She looked back at me, a defiant look in her eyes. She had no intention of leaving this place empty handed. "Please. Whatever is through that door - Mara, it cannot be anything good. S-Stop looking at me that way and listen, would you!"

Finally, it seemed, I was starting to get through her. "L-Listen! There can't be anything good behind those doors. That smell is unnatural. And," a shadow raced just past the periphery of my vision. Even Mara took notice, her head snapping hard toward its direction. I shined my light and found nothing but darkness. "Y-You saw that... you saw that too, right?" Mara didn't react. "Mara!"

Her head snapped to another direction, and my light followed. I caught nothing but a glimpse of it, a shadow crawling over the wall. Spindly legs with a long tail in between. That's the image I could picture in my head.

"Your heart is racing," whispered Mara, who held her hands close to her chest. She took two careful steps and came up to my side. "Calm yourself, fox."

"Calm myself?! Perhaps you aren't fully aware of our situation!"

"Little fox, you've learned nothing, have you?"

"Wha -"

"If it hasn't harmed us, then there is no need for concern." Despite her words, I could catch the little hints of worry in her voice. "We've a curious little observer... somewhere." She looked around the room, and I followed her gaze with my flashlight. "Let it observe."

The obvious question still hung in the air, unanswered. "And if it does attack?"

"Run," she whispered, leaving me with only my thoughts we moved to the archive room.

"Mara... I don't feel at ease."

"It will be okay, little fox." She reached for the doorknob. Surprisingly enough it turned with ease. "Just stay with me."

The archive room looked more like a proper library. Dozens of books were stacked on rows of shelves. The room was considerably smaller than the last. It only fit three long shelves, and even those were placed a little too close to one another. It was obvious, right from the start, that Mara was not going to fit in there.

"A light!" Mara flicked it on. The single yellow lightbulb flickered for several seconds, intermittently humming loudly until it finally settled into a low droning. It didn't properly illuminate the whole room, but it was enough for us to see. "Ah, much better. See?"

"And the stench is gone, too," I murmured, relieved and worried. It made no sense.

"Well, my little vulpine friend. Get to it." She nudged me with her foot and swatted my backside with her long slender tail.

I stumbled, stuttering, shaking my head. "E-Excuse me!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Hm?" She cocked her head and pointed to the row of books tightly packed into one another. "I certainly won't fit in there, you realize. But you? Hmm... a snug fit, but a fit nonetheless."

"I-I... What am I even looking for?!"

"Good question."

"You don't know?!"

Her hands pressed against my back. "Find something interesting," she pushed gently, "and bring it back here, nice and quick."

"M-Mara! Please!"

"The faster you go, the quicker we're out of here!" I didn't much care for her tone of voice, but I couldn't deny her logic.

With a deep breath, I turned sideways and squeezed into the gap between one bookshelf and another. An exploratory push confirmed that they were bolted down tight - nothing in the world was going to move them.

"What do you see!" called out Mara. Her voice sounded oddly distant as I progressed through to the heart of the shelves. The single lightbulb on the ceiling did very little to illuminate, but thankfully my eyes were starting to finally adjust to the low light levels. "Anything interesting!"

"Just some dusty tomes!" I hollered back. "These books haven't been touched in... who knows how long! Some of these look really old, too." I reached up to grab a particularly thick book. It was leather bound and so coated in dirt I couldn't make out the text on its spine. "H-Hold on! There's something here!" A blow of air sprayed the dirt over my face. I could feel my fur getting dirtier with every second I spent in here. "A marriage record, it seems! Most of the pages are blank, but it dates all the way back to... a hundred years ago? What do you think?!"

No reply from my companion. Probably too busy looking at searching for something else. "Here's another! A History of the Occult, Lost Rituals of the Nineteenth Century!" A book I'd pulled at random. Just reading the title sent a shiver down my spine. Its coincidence was left lingering in my mind as I pushed in just a little deeper. "Newspaper records! These are... these are really old, Mara!"

...

"Mara?"

Her silence had become uncanny. No little fox; vulpine friend; or my Reav. Nothing. I swallowed hard, holding each of the books tight to my chest, and looked toward the end of the bookshelves still unexplored. They pressed all the way to the wall, and were shrouded in darkness.

"Mara... I'm coming out, Mara!" I didn't want to say it, but something felt wrong. She could probably hear the shake in my voice. "Mara! Please answer me!" The air grew thicker. The dust seemed to be settling in over my head and... the stench. "Mara!"

The stench. It came in from around me, seeping through right through the books, encasing me. "T-Too tight!" I could feel eyes on me as I struggled to freedom. The bookshelves closed in with every step, pressing tighter and tighter. I had to turn my head just to fit through the narrowing gap. "Mara! Please!" I dared not look behind me now, to the darkness. Something there. Something behind me. Eyes. Teeth. Claws. "MARA! PLEASE!" It was there! On my back! Right at my heels! It's going to get me! It's going to -

I stumbled with a scream and fell hard on my tail, landing just beside the door to the main room. Mara jumped backward, surprised by my sudden appearance. She'd been standing there this whole time, caught off-guard as I stumbled through the bookshelves. "Reav, what's wrong?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed, scrambling backward until my back hit the wall. The pain on my tail was nothing, nothing compared to... "Don't... don't touch me." I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my snout in them, just as tears started to break through from the edges of my eyes.

She got down on her knees just beside me, but kept her hands to herself. I could feel her eyes on me as I struggled to hide away a sob. I wanted to scream, to run, and to throw a punch and break every damned finger in my hand. I wanted to cry out in terror. I wanted to cry.

Three tears. I counted them in my head as the adrenaline finally started to run its course. My hands trembled despite the tight grip I had around my knees. I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but it was harder than it looked. "I called out to you..."

"Reav, I..."

"Didn't you hear me?! Didn't you..." I finally looked up at her, embarrassed and angry. I'd stained my fur with tears. I could almost taste the salty liquid.

"I didn't hear anything," she whispered, placing a gentle touch atop my hand. I couldn't even bring myself to shrug it away. "I swear. I swear I didn't hear you. I wasn't ignoring you."

She was apologetic, and it was genuine. I could tell through the sound of her voice and her gentle touch. She didn't know what was happening.

"Please," I whispered, after a few moments of painful silence. "Don't send me back there..."

"No. No, my little vulpine friend. You're okay. You don't have to go back in there." She glanced back in between the bookshelves. I avoided looking in there. Just focused on her. She even looked a little angry. "Thank you for braving that cramped darkness. You're brave, you know that? You're a brave soul." She massaged my knee, inching in a little closer. "Thank you, my little fox. Thank you."

But I shook my head, and avoided her gaze. "N-No. I'm not." That gave Mara Blanco some pause. She watched me with a curious look in her eyes. I could feel my heart skip a beat as her next prying question formed in my head. "Can we go? Please? I've no wish to be here any longer."

"Of course," whispered Mara, collecting the three books I managed to gather before I... I don't even know what happened. "I think that's enough excitement for the day, hm?" She brought me to my feet and held my hand on the way out of the library. "Let's go home."

We walked silently. There really was nothing more to say. All further plans we had to find someplace to eat and explore the rest of town were placed on halt, at least for the rest of the day. I locked myself in my room when we got back to the motel and spent the next couple of hours under the shower. I felt like I'd been caked under a layer of grime, and it wasn't washing off.

Frustrated, I trudged my way over to the dining hall, and served myself a cup of tea. Mara found me just moments later as I swirled a small spoon around the steaming beverage. She sat opposite of me, still dressed in those same baggy clothes, and cleared her throat to get my attention.

I glanced up at her and managed a small smile. It was a difficult thing to do, but in the end, all I had to do was remind myself that it wasn't her fault. There was no way she could have known. "Hello, Mara." But then, I did everything save getting on my knees and begging for us to leave that accursed library. At that thought, my smile faltered, and I gazed back down to my tea.

"How are you feeling?"

"I showered."

"Yes. I can tell. You didn't even dry your fur."

"Ah." Little droplets of water had fallen all around my hand. "So it seems."

"Reav. May I talk with you?"

"Hm? Certainly, if you'd like." I set the spoon down on the table, neatly folded my paws over my lap, and finally met her eyes.

"I wanted to apologize, my friend." She sighed. "For earlier today."

"Today?" Did she mean what happened in the archive room? I shook my head, but she cut me off with a raised hand.

"The way I treated you. It was... unacceptable from my part. I shouldn't have raised my voice, and I shouldn't have handled you that way."

"Oh... that."

She nodded. "You were very helpful, my vulpine friend. Very helpful. Well, I couldn't have done this without you." Mara Blanco leaned in a little, a little sad, but also a little hopeful. That delicious scent or oranges came wafting off again. "Will you forgive me, my friend? For treating you the way I did."

"R-Really? It's alright. I... uh... I didn't mind it too much, actually." I paused. "It was good, to be useful, I mean."

Mara was smiling wide, unashamed of revealing those sharp ivory fangs that almost glistened under the light. "May I make a request?"

I nodded my head.

"Come back to my room tonight. Around... 8 PM, if you won't be busy."

"I..." I made a show of thinking, as if I were going through my daily planner in my head. The silence hung in the air for a few seconds. "No. I won't be busy." I gulped. Her eyes pierced me. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'd like to give you something." Mara Blanco grinned, stood, and stretched backward. Even with her baggy shirt, her chest looked ready to burst through. "Be there at eight, yes?"

"Okay, Mara." I smiled at her, somehow finding it possible to push back the memories of earlier today. "I'll be there."