The creature was getting faster. Each step Lucy took the monster matched it, and then some. Her lungs felt as if they would burst right through her chest at any given moment. But she had to keep moving. Had to get away from this thing. She needed an escape. A weapon. Anything.

Luck was with her for she spotted a police car just fifty feet ahead. Lucy went into overdrive, sprinting as hard as she could towards survival. Her feet slammed against the street pavement; echoing off the abandoned ware houses. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Five feet.

Lucy threw herself on the car and began furiously smacking the metal frame in order to get the police officers attention. Nothing. She swung around to the driver side and pounded her fists against the window while screaming, "Help! Help me! Please!"

Despite her efforts, the cop remained motionless. Desperate, Lucy took hold of the door handle and tried to pry the door open. It wouldn't budge. In front of her she could hear the heavy panting of the creature. Its loud footfalls coming closer and closer.

"Dammit!" Lucy yelled in frustration. She took a step back and kicked the window with all her might. The window caved in, showering the police officer with glass. She felt a minute of relief but it was short lived, for the monster was on the other side of the car.

The creature wasn't like anything Lucy had ever seen or heard about before. It towered over her and the car as skyscrapers do to the surrounding buildings in a city. The body had a human structure, but instead of skin it had mucus colored scales. Some of them were decomposing, exposing the horrid yellow bone underneath.

The eyes were pits of complete darkness blending in with the nighttime sky. Its mouth was bursting with rows of razor sharp teeth which looked as if they could gnaw through anything, including steel. Drool was carelessly sliding down the side of its chin landing on the roof of the police car.

Lucy could feel the monster's hunger emanating off of it in thick waves raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Her legs began to tremble making her lose her balance. It charged toward her, throwing the police car like a human would throw a child's toy.

Instinct took over Lucy. She grabbed a razor sharp piece of glass and hurled it at the creature. The glass soared through the air and into the creature's neck, causing it to make the most hideous sound Lucy had ever heard in her sixteen years of life. If hell had a soundtrack this scream would be its number one single.

The monster lifted a scaly hand to its bleeding neck and pulled out the embedded shard of glass. It smashed the glass against the street pavement, set its angry pit less eyes on Lucy, and howled into the night. She turned to run but the monster was faster. Its large hands engulfed her tiny frame. She screamed.

Lucy woke in a fright. Her heart was beating rapidly and she was drenched in sweat. It was just a dream, she thought to herself. Just a dream. Relax Lucy. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her heart rate. That was definitely the last time she would ever watch a scary movie before bed; no matter how good her brother said it was.

"Lucy!" her mother called.

When Lucy didn't respond her mother tried again, only this time she yelled louder. "Lucy get up! You're going to be late for work!"

Work? More like a full day of boredom, Lucy thought unhappily. Suddenly there was a constant pounding on the outside of her bedroom door.

"Lucinda White! Get. Up." her mother stated firmly.

"I'm up. I'm up." Lucy responded with a sigh. The tired girl pushed her covers back and casually placed each bare foot onto the plush carpeted floor. She ran her hands across her face as if to physically wipe away the monster still burned into the back of her eyelids. She reluctantly pushed herself the rest of the way off her bed and headed to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later Lucy was rummaging through her closet. Luckily their wasn't a specific uniform to wear while working at the library so she decided on her usual dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors.

She studied herself in the full-length mirror hanging on her bedroom door. Reflected back was an average height, pale girl with big green eyes, and black hair that tumbled past her shoulders in loose waves. Satisfied with her outfit she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Lucy's mother, Jodi, was busy working over the stove and humming a sweet tune Lucy didn't recognize. She sat down at the small round table set for four even though her father and brother, Ethan, had gone to England for a business trip. Her brother was only eighteen, but Lucy's father believed it was never too early to learn about the components of the American businessman.

"I made your favorite breakfast Lulu. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and two pieces of toast with strawberry jam," her mother announced proudly. Lucy just nodded her head and said a quick thanks then began munching on her delicious breakfast. Stuffed, Lucy put her empty plate into the dishwasher and headed out the door.

The streets of Brooklyn were a chaotic mess as usual. Angry taxi cab drivers honking their horns repeatedly, vendors shouting their sweet deals to passersby, and the occasional businessman screaming into his cellphone about a presentation now ruined because of an incompetent worker. All these sounds, Lucy noticed, somehow fit together in an awkward melodious fashion. Fortunately her trusty iPod was in her front jean pocket.

She put the brilliant purple headphones on, unlocked her iPod, pressed music, songs, and finally shuffle. 'Garden Grove' by Sublime came blaring out of her headphones. A bright smile spread across her face as memories of Ethan and her singing at the top of their lungs with the windows of his car rolled down flooded her brain.

Seven songs later, Lucy was standing in front of a giant antique wooden desk where her new boss, Mr. Linden, the head librarian, was casually sitting with his fingers interlaced together. He was a thin man with gray-streaked hair and a long beaky nose. His gray suit and tie made the gray in his hair stand out all the more.

"Now Lucy, your job my dear is to restock the wonderful books our readers may have forgotten to put away," said Mr. Linden in a voice as sweet as pie.

Lucy nodded her head and waited for the man to continue.

"You will have to carry around a handheld scanner so you can scan the barcodes on the books you replace. This way we know which ones are currently in stock in case we miss them during inventory."

Mr. Linden opened the giant drawer beneath his desk and began searching for the scanner. The crease between his eyebrows deepened as his fingers came up empty drawer after drawer. He scratched the top of his head in a questioning manner. "Hmm. Where could I have put that darned thing?"

"I believe I saw it on the checkout desk when I walked in," Lucy said in a composed tone of voice. The old man and the girl walked into the library's main floor and made a beeline straight for the checkout desk.

"Ah yes. Here it is," exclaimed Mr. Linden. He did a quick examination of the device then handed it to Lucy.

"All right my dear you are free to go. If you have any questions you can ask either myself or Jace."

"Who is Jace again?" asked Lucy.

"You can't miss him. Just ask any girl in here. I'm sure they would gladly lead you to him." Mr. Linden said. "They all seem to gawk at him while he's not looking," he added as if just realizing this.

"Oh um, all right. Uh, good to know." I guess, thought Lucy.

The librarian sighed. "I used to be like that once. Then I met a woman named stress. She kicks the crap out of me daily."

Unsure how to respond to that comment Lucy decided to change the subject. "I'm sorry sir that's horrible, but can I start working? Those misplaced books are calling my name to return them home." She flashed as kind of a smile as she could manage hoping the librarian wouldn't see right through it.

"Ah yes. Start with the children's section. It's usually a disaster."

"Ok sounds good." They exchanged another set of smiles and went their separate ways.

Mr. Linden wasn't lying; it looked like a tornado had hit the kids section. Books were thrown everywhere. Some were stuffed in the little cushions on the comfy chairs, while others were dangling from the roof of the reading hut. There was absolutely no way she would be able to reach those. Morosely Lucy thought, this day just keeps getting better and better. With a sigh she got to work.

After what felt like a thousand books and scans later she sensed someone behind her that made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Immediately Lucy shot up from her sitting position on the still crowded floor and whirled around to face the intruder.

To her surprise it was a boy around her age, maybe a year or two older. He was tall with a body that definitely hit the gym more than five times a week. His hair was golden blond surrounding a perfectly tanned face. The boy's eyes were the color of golden syrup and were...looking straight at her, eyebrows raised.

"Can I help you with something?" Lucy asked with just the smallest hint of acid.

A slight smile played on the boy's lips as he took in the sight of Lucy's reaction. "Yes actually. I'd like to know why you are in my workspace." The boy folded his arms across his chest and casually leaned against a bookshelf waiting for Lucy's response.

"Are you Jace?"

"The one and only. You must be Ms. Lucinda White."

"Yep."

Jace continued to stare at her with a smirk that Lucy was not too fond of. "All right, I'm going to get out of your way. You have fun now." She was just about to walk away when he stepped in front of her; blocking any chance of escape.

"Why don't you help me finish this up; considering you already did quite a delightful job."

Lucy observed the treacherous floor that she tripped over at least ten times in the last half hour.

"I'll pass. Rain check?"

"Oh so she plays like that. All right I can handle it."

Lucy chuckled as Jace continued. "Fine rain check it is. But I get to call you

anytime, anywhere. Deal?" Jace stuck out a hand to close the deal.

Hesitantly Lucy raised her hand to meet Jace's.

"Deal," said Lucy.

"You can go look at the history section. I just finished over there but knowing people these days there is guaranteed to be books lying helplessly on the floor."

"Thanks I suppose." Lucy started to walk away even though she had no idea where the history section was.

"Lucy," called Jace. The girl stopped and turned around to face him.

"Yes?"

"The history section is to the right. You don't want to go over to the left unless you want to learn how to turn into a herd of sheep."

"There are books on how to do that?"

"Does this face look like it would lie?"

"Definitely."

The boys eyebrows raised ever so slightly but the playful smirk remained intact.

"You know I could have you fired for that."

It was Lucy's turn to smirk. "But you won't."

"You're right. I won't." That's when a wicked smile spread across the boy's face. "At least not this time."

"Whatever you say Jace."

At that Lucy started walking away yet again, only this time in the opposite direction.

Disclamer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments or the Infernal Devices. Comments are deeply appreciated!:) I hope you guys enjoy!