The library
This work is copyrighted to the author Sunkra © 2010-2011. Don't remove the author information or make any changes to this story. Do not redistribute this story in any way without the author's explicit written permission. All rights reserved.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This story was written as adult fiction. Any similarities with any real life events and/or persons are completely coincidental. Described characters and/or events are fictional. Enjoy the story!--------------------------------------------------------
This story is about a doe named Dawn having to visit the library to finish her studies for her exams. However, the library has other ideas.This story contains: no sex, horror, death, gore
The library
With a loud bang, Dawn runs into the heavy oak door of the library, almost breaking her nose as she tries to get away from the sudden heavy rain. She clutches her face and opens the huge wooden door to gain entrance to the building. The lit open hall of the library looks incredibly gloomy, the orange lights on the ceiling and walls not quite helping to make the shadows look any less threatening. It's the week after after New Year's Eve, which means the days are dark, cold and short ... and finals are happening! Dawn the doe rubs her pained nose but doesn't suspect anything is broken, just a little bit of stinging. Some of the few furs present look at her with a big question mark in their minds, but most go on about their business without paying the clumsy doe any attention.
Dawn gathers her act back together and resolutely steps into one of the many corridors connecting to the entrance hall, her small hooves tapping the floor hard and causing harsh echoes to flee to the corners of the old rooms. Shelves with books reach to the ceiling, you can't reach the top ones without one of the many tall ladders available, dust is dense in the air. The intervals at which the gloomy orange lights hang down are far apart, meaning the hallways are as good as completely dark for a couple of feet before reaching the other light spot. The slender build doe however doesn't pay much attention to the creepy surroundings, her finals have been stressing her out for weeks and when her computer gave up its spirit just earlier today she totally freaked out. She didn't see any other solution than to go to the public library and try to find a computer there to finish her work.
When Dawn meets a junction of bookshelves with many options to get lost in, she looks around to find any sign of where she should go. Maybe she shouldn't have rushed and just asked the clerk at the desk in the entrance hall where the computers are. No signs to indicate where she should go except for a dimly lit filthy green 'exit' sign. The doe lowers her head and closes her eyes, she's about ready to cry. A faintly ticking sound pulls her attention however, her ears perking up as she raises her head towards the origin quickly. The glow of what appears to be a computer screen is faintly visible at the end of one of the corridors, some of the lights down that hallway are broken and dark though. Chills creep up Dawn's spine but she just grabs her books and embraces them extra tight to her chest, no time to be scared of an old building.
With quick steps she walks down the corridor, the book shelves on either side seemingly reaching endlessly up towards the sometimes invisible ceiling. The taps of her hooves onto the cold hard floor grow hesitant, slowing down but refusing to stop. She's almost there, she will know wether she was right or wrong. Again, the ticking sounds coming from the light source are audible but it sounds like they're moving closer, as is the light which she suspects is a computer screen. Dawn stops dead in her tracks, the feeling of impending threat growing greater than her mind can suppress, turning around to walk back as suddenly every gloomy orange light in her corridor dies out. Pitch black darkness envelops her, nowhere to go. The ticking sounds draw nearer behind her, the doe screaming in pure panic and dropping her books as she makes a run for it into the direction she thinks she came from.
Her face makes brutal contact with shelves, books falling down upon her head and bruising her as she flails her arms around wildly, her mind so much in shock that she thinks the books are attacking her. With trembling legs, Dawn crawls back up and dashes once more, this time she trips over something in her way and her chin meets the floor in a rather uncomfortable way, almost biting her tongue. She lies shivering on the cold floor, holding her jaws as she cries out in pain, trying to calm her mind as she looks back behind her for the first time. The ticking sounds approach in the pitch black darkness but two tiny white orbs of light are visible, shedding very little light on their surroundings. Dawn huddles up against the bookcase behind her in fear and holds her arms in front of her face protectively:"No! Go away! Help, someone help me!"
The ticking sounds abruptly stop, just a single one of the orange lights on the ceiling turns on again right above Dawn and she bathes in the gloomy spot light. She lowers her arms slightly to look where the white orbs went. Terror hits her like a train as from out of the darkness and into the looming orange light, pitch black feathers descend and a dusty gray beak emerges. Before her stands an impossibly tall black bird in ragged robes, his white eyes shining brightly but shedding almost no light as they stare at her directly. For what seems minutes but actually are mere seconds, time stops and doe and bird stare at each other in silence. Then the creature tilts its head to the side and clouds of dust swirl down to the floor with his movements, as if he's been still for centuries. It never breaks eye contact, one of his winged arms reaching forward holding up an extinguished lantern as if it actually casts more visibility on the little doe in front of it.
Dawn's chest heaves in panicked breaths, trying to calm herself down as she stares at the ancient looking bird, suspecting it's a raven or a crow. She tries to stumble to her feet but needs the book shelves behind her for support as she seems to have twisted her ankle in the process of fleeing:"Uhm, sorry that I ran away from you. You gave me quite a fright. I was just trying to find the computers..."Dawn's explanation dies out as her voice gives up talking, the crow with unearthly white glowing eyes just staring at her and never blinking. The avian then opens its beak and a small torrent of sand and dust streams out to hit the floor, forming a small cloud with the scent of age and death. Dawn stops breathing as a dry gasp can be heard from the creature, words mumbled. Behind her back she grabs a heavy book from a shelve, just in case, as she gathers her courage and meekly asks:"Are you alright, sir? I can't understand you."
The bird abruptly points his free wing to the doe, a screech tearing through the darkness:"Intruder! Intruder in the library! Exterminate it and bring me the heart!"The white light from its eyes grow in intensity, blinding light hurting Dawn's eyes as she screams. With a fling she throws the heavy book right in the face of the screeching old crow and watches horrified as the creature's skull cracks open, more dust and feathers flying around in a cloud from it. The terrified doe skips away on one leg as she feels a shooting pain from her other twisted ankle, tears rolling down her cheeks as she cries for help and her mother and father. More books falls down onto her in the darkness, flashes of her life shooting through her head as she feels death come nearer. The library is still pitch black, only the orange light directly above Dawn switch on whilst the other where she just was dies out, casting a temporary light spot on only her and her direct surroundings.
Then the doe spots the filthy green 'exit' sign she saw earlier, her heart racing and jumping in faint hope, she starts skipping for it but hears the screeching and ticking sound behind her come closer once more. More light spots turn on, more gloomy orange spots are cast on the ground in the far distance as Dawn is back at the junction in between corridors. A black form stands in the distant light spots, surrounding her in every corridor, black silhouettes just hanging suspended in the air as white eyes glow up. She's trapped. Dawn turns her head from corridor to corridor, observing the threatening figures standing so far away, trying to figure a way out. She skips to a nearby shelve and grabs another heavy book but it seems so futile now. The orange lights in the distance die out once more and only the white glowing eyes remain, screeches echo as with unearthly speed her assailants rush towards her now.
Skipping forward into the corridor with the exit and the glooming eyes rushing towards her, Dawn gathers all her strength and strikes the creature in front of her with the book in complete darkness. Stinging pain shoots through her body as she feels a sharp object penetrating her shoulder, making her scream in agony as she falls to the ground once more as does her assailant. The taste and scent of dust mixed with blood enters the doe's nose and mouth, making her gag and cough up with grunts as she pushes the creature off of her, the entire library engulfed in darkness again. More white eyes gather at where the junction was and are preparing to storm towards Dawn's location. The doe cries as she sees the exit, the door leading into the entrance hall of the library, at the end of the hallway. The screeching darkness behind her en roaches, her body trapped under one of the creatures as she tries to push it off.
Then suddenly as if by a miracle, all the lights in the library switch back on. Dawn sniffles and cries but then opens her eyes, staring around her. No sign of the nightmare she entered earlier, no creatures and no screeches. She composes herself as quickly as she can, wiping her nose which drips a little bit of blood and then makes way to the end of the corridor. Hope and tears flow as she's almost there, almost out, almost there...
The door is open, she can see the clerk behind his desk and the other students walking through the entrance hall, almost out. A cold sensation finds its way into Dawn's senses, her skip tempered by doubt. The open inviting door is so close, she makes a leap for it and reaches for the light. With a swing, the wooden door slams shut and every orange light on the ceiling extinguishes again along with Dawn's hope. Sharp feathers close around the doe's throat, making her gasp for air as she's lifted into the air in a death grip. She struggles, her bulging eyes observing the dusty old crow with cracked open skull in front of her, the insides of its head dried up as if it's been dead for centuries. The beak opens again, the screeching voice replaced with an unusually soft and kind tone:"The library must not die, the library must not fade. Your heart belongs to the comfort of the darkness now, nestled with us forevermore..."
The scent of blood and dust deep inside Dawn's nose, she tries to breath and gasps for mercy, begging for her life. A quick swishing sound cuts her short and with a sick 'thud', the doe's body falls to the ground. Blood drips from the faded feathers of the crow's free wing, tossing the in scream frozen head of the girl aside as it kneels down. Its beak pierces right through Dawn's severed ribcage and plucks her heart out like a cherry from a tree branch. The creature places the still warm dripping organ into its lantern and a red light starts radiating from it. It turns around to look down the corridor, multiple glowing white eyes lurk in the darkness far away as if waiting. The crow turns once more to walk away, the other creatures rushing forward and shredding sounds echo through the room as they reach Dawn's body. The last words uttered are ones of sadness and comfort:"The library must not fade, the library shall not die ..."
And with those last words, the darkness withdraws, making place for the gloomy orange light once again as it did before. Dawn's books are found by the librarian and put into the 'lost and found' drawer at the lobby desk, but they will never be claimed.