The Red Library
"Why don't we go to the library?" says Dean, lounging with Katie on her couch. "And waste a perfectly good Saturday night? No way." Katie answers. She wanted a thrill, an adventure, a commotion, not something that would make her bored to tears. Her whole life was filled with dullness. All she ever did was study, get good grades, and look for colleges. "The last thing I want to think about is books. Let's go to a movie or something." Katie says. But Dean was still fixated on the library. "Come on. It's not just an ordinary library." "What do you mean?" Katie asks. "I have heard some rumors; rumors that say someone died there. They were locked in the library by accident and the next morning, someone found their body and all their blood, drained." Katie rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on. You honestly believe that? You would have to be a moron." "Hey! That's insulting. I don't care if it's real or not, but it's worth checking it out. And it's better than a movie." Dean was being very persistent. He was not going to let Katie off the hook. Then, he snuggles closer to her and says, "You said you wanted to be more daring. I'm simply helping you. Don't worry. If you get scared, I'll hold your hand," Dean says as he chuckles at the thought. Katie was tired of being pestered by her boyfriend. She knew that Dean thought of her as a "scaredy cat". With that in mind, she says, "Fine. We'll go. Tonight." Dean leaps from the couch in excitement and starts to gather supplies, while Katie hopes that tomorrow morning, she would be a changed person.
Katie and Dean had snuck into the library, hoping that they would soon see the ghost. But as hours passed, nothing was happening. Katie smugly smiles, and says, "Well, I'm definitely scared." Dean, sensing her sarcasm, replies, "Something will happen soon. I can feel it..." Dean is interrupted by his growling stomach, "Or maybe I just need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back. Holler if you need anything!" Dean quickly walks toward the bathroom and disappears from Katie's view. Katie sighs, and starts to look around for a good book to read. "Guess it's just you and me again, as usual," she says when she finds her favorite book. She sits down on a lumpy chair and begins to read to herself in the dark. A few hours pass, and Dean has not returned. Katie finally finishes the last few chapters, and puts down the book. She notices that Dean was still missing. Thinking it is a joke to scare her, she says, "Alright. Enough tricks. Very funny, Dean. You can come out now." Despite her command, Dean does not show. She groans and picks up her flashlight. She was becoming annoyed with him. She starts walking toward the bathroom, preparing to yell at her mischievous boyfriend, when suddenly she stops and hears a noise. It sounds like a quill writing on parchment. Wondering what was making the noise, Katie looks around and sees nothing. Then, a thought occurs to her. "What if someone is writing in a book?" Katie goes back to the lumpy chair and picks up her favorite book. She opens it, and nothing appears to be wrong. "I must be hearing things," she says and puts down the book. However, as soon as she does, she senses that something has been changed within the book. Katie looks at it, picks it up, and opens it.
The writing had went from a dark black to a bright red. She faintly smells the reeking stench of blood. She jumps and drops the book and her flashlight. Katie scrambles to recover her flashlight and quickly obtains it. She cautiously approaches the book and stares at it intently. Katie still hears the sound of a quill scribbling, even though the whole book was already written in what appeared to be blood. She glances at a few other books, and they are all the same: all of the text completely rewritten in blood. And yet, Katie still hears the scribbling of a quill. She turns to go look for the source of the noise, when a black-bound book catches her eye. She slowly opens it, and finds that the book is still being written. Even though it scares her, she holds on to it, thinking it might be important. Katie gathers her stuff and goes to look for Dean. After another hour or so, she is exasperated. Katie is on the verge of tears, looking for her boyfriend. She says, "Dean, even though you can be a jerk sometimes, I don't let that change the way I feel about you. Please, just come out and we can leave together. I don't even care if you tease me about it later, just stop it now." After a few moments, Katie breaks down and starts to cry. She slides down the wall she is leaning on and huddles against it, cradling her knees and sobbing. Katie's mind is racing with thoughts of an injured Dean. She then wipes away her tears, and starts to look at the black-bound book. It is still writing, despite all the time that has gone by. She realizes that the books could be rewritten in Dean's blood. The thought makes her nauseous, and she feels light-headed. Despite her horrific thought, she continues to read the black-bound book.
"That's strange," Katie says to herself, "This book is the only one that is still being written, and the story is exactly what is happening to me right now." Katie's eyes widen and her mind is filled with fear, paranoia, anxiety. Katie realizes that the black-bound book is about her. She desperately tries to read ahead, but the writing only goes so far. She reads, "And then Katie realizes what the book truly means. She wants to find out how her story ends, however, there are no spoilers in this book. She will only realize her fate when it comes around, which is very soon..."
Katie gasps. She freezes in fear. She believes that if she does not do anything, the book will stop. However, the writing goes on. Katie starts to feel herself slipping away into darkness. Her head slowly droops down. She is extremely weak, but she tries to see what is her ending is in the black-bound book. She notices that the writing is slowing down. Katie pulls the rest of her strength together and reads the last few sentences of her book, of her life. The last paragraph is dedicated to her, like a note. It reads, "Well, it is finally come to the end of the book, and your life. Your boyfriend Dean is fine. He fell asleep in the bathroom, the imbecile. He left you all alone, when you needed him most. So, your previous theory of this new "ink" being his blood is inaccurate. Instead of it being his blood, it is yours. Ah, this explains why it is so hard for you to stay awake, and why the writing is slowing down. Even though this is the end of your life, it will always be remembered in this book, this black-bound book you found in the library. And you know what the title is called? It is in honor of you... It is called, "The Red Library".