The Redpills

By Michael Weyer

Two: The Librarian

My name is Claire Hodges.

I'm a bookworm. I always have been, ever since I was a little girl. I was the only child on my block who didn't ask for dolls or toys or dresses. I wanted books and good ones as well. Dickens, Austen, Wells, Verne, everything. The better the literature, the more I devoured it.

It continued on through school and I suppose my social life was lacking. I just never felt able to connect to normal people. Not when I could just open the pages and let a whole new cast of characters whisk me away. So, ok, I may be called a nerd and a geek but at least I'm a well-read one.

So I suppose it's not a surprise that I ended up working as a librarian. It's a good job, my dream job really. I'm surrounded by books all the time, I do my best to make sure they're in place and best of all, I can help young people discover the same love and magic in reading that I have.

But…that's changed.

I don't know how it happened. I don't know why it happened. All I know is that my job has just gotten far, far more complicated than it should.

I guess I should admit I've long had a touch of obsessive compulsion within me. I think it's common among other super bookworms. It helps with my work, I have to admit that. Learning Dewey decimal system is a snap after my usual routines. It helps with my system. I even have a small plaque of it by my desk: "A place for every book. Every book in its place."

Which is what makes this so incredibly insane.

I was making my rounds as normal, placing books back on shelves and tidying up. It's afternoon so there are a few people around, mostly college kids studying in quiet. I'm walking about, the very model of a librarian with my business skirt and blouse, my dark hair pulled back and glasses on my nose. I've been told if I glammed up, I could be quite the looker but I don't have much time to go out these days.

At the moment, I don't care about any of that. All I care about is what I'm seeing. Even though I can't believe it.

I pull a book out to hold it for someone. I take the title from a list I'm given. It's the same routine I've had for years, day in and day out. I pull a book and put it on my cart, right where it's supposed to go.

It's not supposed to be back on the shelf when I turn back.

At first I think my eyes are playing tricks on me. I see the book on the shelf. The exact same book in the exact same spot. I frown and reach up, pulling it out again. I look it over, examining it carefully. I hold it next to the book I took off earlier. They're identical. Exactly identical.

I shake my head and look up and it's there again. The same book! I pull it out and watch this time. There's a flash of green, a bizarre string of symbols and it's there again. I pull it out and once more, the green flash and it's back. I pull it out again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

"No…" I whisper with each pull. "No, this can't be happening." I keep pulling it out, a small pile of books on the floor beneath me as I add to it. "It can't be…a place for every book…every book in its place…"

I keep pulling, again and again and again but it won't stop reappearing. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes as my anxiety gets to me. "Not right," I whisper, sinking to my knees. "It's not right…"

"Ms. Hodges?"

I turn and see two men behind me. They are both in suits and dark glasses, each wearing what looks like an earpiece. They are fixing me with blank gazes and I can't shake the feeling they're studying me like a bug.

"We need you to come with us," one says in a flat and emotionless tone.

I shake my head. "No…no, I can't. I have to stay here…I have to…" I try to steady myself. "This isn't right…something's wrong."

"We know," one of the men states. "Come with us."

Something tells me that I don't want to do this. Something about these men feels so wrong. I brush any thoughts aside and concentrate on the books. "Please..I can't leave…"

"I don't think she wants to go with you."

All three of us start at the sudden voice. The two agents turn to see a man standing before them. He's clad in a dark overcoat and is also wearing sunglasses. He's not bad looking either but I'm too wrapped up in fear to notice.

The two suited men exchange a look and then move in. The younger man reacts faster, grabbing one and throwing him into a stack of books nearby. He then blocks a kick by the other before punching him toward some shelves.

The fight breaks the hold of terror on me and I obey my first instinct which is to run. I rush up and around, toward a ladder leading up to the second floor landing. I climb up it quickly and reach the landing. I turn to look down at the fight below.

I see a flash of light on metal and somehow I know what it is. I yelp and leap back as a bullet flies past me, fired by one of the suited men. I move to run down the landing, trying to make my way to the exit as another bullet whizzes by.

There's a blur and suddenly a man lands on the platform before me. I freeze in place, staring in shock. That's impossible. A person can't just leap up from the ground floor to up here. He just can't.

It's one of the suited men, I realize. I also realize he's aiming a pistol right at my head. "Failure to acquire the subject," he says out loud. "Termination protocol approved." I just stare blankly as he starts to squeeze the trigger…

And there's a blur of black as the other man is there, kicking the gun away and throwing him into a wall. I take off, running down the hall, heading to the exit. I burst in and shut and lock the door behind me. I slump against it, heaving for breath, unable to accept any of this. I hear sounds of gunfire, of blows, of grunts and yells. Then I hear a voice.

"Are you ok?"

I recognize it as the man in the trenchcoat and I can hear myself sob. "No…no, I'm not. I don't understand any of this…"

"You saw something, didn't you?" he calls out. "Something that wasn't right?"

"A book…it kept appearing. NO matter how many times I pulled it out, it kept appearing."

"What book?"

"Alice in Wonderland."

I hear a deep sigh. "Why should I be surprised…Listen, I'm here to help. Just trust me. Stay here."

"What's going on?"

"You saw something you shouldn't have. Those men want to stop you."

"So…they're…the library police?"

"Ah…something like that. Look just stay there."

But I don't want to. I just want to run and I do, heading down the hallway and toward the main hall. I see the large glass window overlooking it, leading to the stairs. I'm heading there when my heel catches and I feel my body stumble into the glass.

I scream as I fall, twisting around to grab the edge. I yell loudly as I feel my shoulders strain in pain. I look down and see I'm dangling a few feet over the stairs. "Hold on!" I hear and I look up to see the trenchcoat man before me. He leaps over my head, landing on the ledge beneath me. He holds his hands out and I let go, falling into them.

There's a crashing sound and we both look up to see a quartet of men in SWAT uniforms enter the skylights on ropes. He puts me down on the stairs and motions to the landing above. "Stay out of the way," he says as he reaches into his coat and pulls out what look like a pair of mini-rifles. He starts running as he fires, and I see two men go down immediately.

I go to my knees, covering my ears, yelling in terror at the sounds of gunfire, my mind reeling from this insanity. I feel something behind me and I turn to see a policeman pointing a rifle at me. I open my mouth to say something but he suddenly shudders, his face marked with pain. He seems to let out a silent scream as his entire body contorts, changing in shape and shade.

I feel my mind reel from what I'm seeing. It's like some twisted version of Bradbury or Asimov as I see the cop turn into one of the suited men, the rifle replaced by a pistol, which is aimed at me.

Once again, there's the blur and once again, the trenchcoat is there. I crawl backward, unable to look away as the two fight. The suited man grabs the younger man and hurls him down the stairs. The other man lands on his feet and then launches himself up and flies-----flies!----upward, flipping around to kick the suited man. The suited man sails up to the ceiling, smashes into it and falls down. The other man is waiting for him and just as the suited man comes into range, nails him with a punch that sends him sailing across the hall.

He smashes headfirst into the far wall, his body slumping. His hands move up as if to push out but then his body gyrates and flashes. I see the policeman's body, sticking out of the wall like a cartoon.

The young man is before me now, holding out his hand. I look up at his face and see concern there, true concern for me. Like the hero coming to rescue the damsel fair. "Are you ready?" he asks.

I pause. Somehow, I already know what I'm going to say. "No. But…I guess I don't have any choice, do I?"

"Actually, you will have a choice," he says as he takes my hand and helps me to my feet. "But I believe it's one you'll want to take."

"Will…will there be a library where we're going?"

He chuckles as we walk "Actually, yes. And we could use someone with a good eye for them."

"I'm…I'm good at that. A place for every book…"

"Every book in it's place."

We walk away together as my story in one world ends and a new chapter begins.

Next: The Security Guard