For those who have been here since the beginning. Yes, I remade the first chapter. Enjoy!
It was a cool day of October, as a young man no older than nineteen was getting ready for work at the local library. He was tall, about six feet or so, short black hair, but when it comes to muscle; he can be described as a stick. Understandable really, the young man never took part in physical activity, nor tried out for any sports teams back in high school.
He was currently at a locker, setting his bag inside. Opening it, he pulled out a loose shirt, with a label on the left side that said: Wang Shi Tong's Library. Putting on the shirt over his red one, the young man began to start his shift.
Opening a door that read: Employee's Only. He was at the front of the library, behind the front desk. He saw the librarian sitting down, focused on the computer screen. Seems like she was sorting through some shipments. She looked to be around his age. She was shorter than him, had light tan skin, brown hair. In truth she was beautiful, but a little scary. She was cool to talk to, smart, had some humor too. However, if you got on her bad side, you'd find yourself on the floor in seconds.
"Hey Jin." He greeted with a small smile.
Jin turned her head from the screen, her dark olive green eyes meeting his own. She was wearing a green long sleeved shirt, with dark green pants. She seemed to be bored out of her mind, but had a smile on her once she faced the young man. "Hey Aang, finally got done checking yourself out in the mirror?" She asked, humor clear in her voice.
His smile widened a little at her teasing. "Y-Yeah, so what's up for today?" He asked, a little shy, he seemed to have a bit of trouble talking with her.
Hearing his tone of voice, she raised an eye brow, before realizing the issue. "Still having a hard time talking to others I see." Jin stated, her voice was soft and understanding.
It was true, when it came to socializing, Aang was usually shy and distant. He looked down at the floor in shame. "Sorry." He whispered, standing there waiting for her to speak.
"Don't worry about it, I know things haven't been easy for you." Jin tried to comfort him. She turned around to grab a sheet, standing up and walking to him she said. "Here, this is for a shipment that's coming in today at 5:00pm. They're the books we ordered for next month and I need you to take care of it and put them in the back." She explained, handing him the sheet.
"That's not coming in for about two hours." He said, wondering why she gave it to him now instead of later.
Nodding she replied. "Yeah, I would've given it to you after I got you to stalk some shelves, but I have to leave soon to sort through some documents. Once I'm done, I'll be off on a trip for a few days." Jin explained, as she began grabbing a file, holding said documents.
"Oh, well I hope you have fun." Aang said shyly, as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I'm sorry, I know that means you'll have to deal with 'him' alone." Jin said sadly, her eyes lowering to the floor.
"N-No, don't be sorry. I've been able to deal with it way before I started working here." Aang assured her with a small smile, not wanting her to feel guilty, even though he was a bit fearful of what might happen with her gone. He didn't want her to feel responsible. This was something that he had to deal with and that's what he was gonna do.
Having his tasks laid out for the day, Aang began his shift. He started by grabbing a cart full of books and proceeded to stalk shelves until the shipment of books arrived. A bit of time passed and Jin had to leave, they said their 'goodbye's' with Aang wishing her a fun trip. After two hours of work, the shipment arrived. Aang headed outside to the back where the delivery was taking place. Aang wanted to make sure he didn't mess anything up, being able to handle the shipment and getting the books inside in the back room. Aang was able to put the new books in stock and all set to be released for next month. Since he was done with the shipment, he headed out of the back and into the library where he saw the place was filled with people, from students to elders. Aang found himself quite busy now, from sorting through books, helping customers, even temporarily, taking over Jin's job of checking out peoples books for customers to take home. After some time had passed, the library only had a few customers left. Aang found himself back to stalking shelves, enjoying the peace.
"Hey, Aang!" Someone called out. Aang looked over his shoulder and turned to face the person calling him. Coming to find out that it was the last person he wanted to encounter.
Nervous and a bit fearful, Aang responds in a meek voice. "Hey Jet, something wrong?" As he raised his hand to greet his co-worker. The man known as Jet stood slightly taller than Aang, long shaggy hair and unlike Aang, had some muscle on him.
Jet smirked seeing how nervous Aang was, these two had been in the same high school and now they attended the same college. Jet had made Aang a sort of punching bag, seeing Aang's peaceful nature and refusal to hurt others gave Jet a sense of entertainment. Taking advantage, Jet would occasionally pick fights with Aang and due to Aang not being one for offense resulted in Jet beating him down.
"Nah, just wanted to see how you've been doing. Wouldn't want you messing up and getting fired, right?" Jet asked, but Aang wasn't buying this act. Aang was still on edge about what Jet really wanted, but Jet did have a point. Aang had two strikes in the seven months working in the library and he couldn't afford a third. If something happened it would result in Aang losing his job, he wouldn't be able to afford the rent for his apartment, which was due next week. Once he gets done this week, his upcoming check will be able to pay for rent for another month, plus buy some food.
Trying to hide his fear, Aang responded "Right, uh, I need to organize the rest of the shelves." Aang turned back to his job and started packing the shelves with books. However, Jet stuck around, making Aang feel more uncomfortable than he already was.
"So, make any friends yet? Or are you still a loner?" Jet taunted, moving next to Aang and leaning on the book shelves.
Knowing that Jet was just trying to rile him up, Aang put on a small smile. "Still a loner." He answered softly, a sad look in his eyes as he continued his job.
Jet furrowed his brows in slight irritation, though it quickly disappeared. Replaced by that smirk. "Too bad, it's been a few years and you still can't make friends. Though actually, I guess Jin kinda counts. You two have been chatty since you started here." Jet stated, waiting for a response.
"Jin's nice but we aren't friends, just co-workers." Aang said, eyeing Jet from the corner of his eye.
"Oh okay, but you know, you could try to be friends or maybe you'd rather have some 'fun' with her." Jet accused, hoping that will get him fuming.
Aang knew this, though he'd be lying if he said it didn't get to him. Even so, he took a moment to calm his thoughts before speaking. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I wouldn't do that to her or anyone else. I'm not one to take advantage of other people for my own gain." Aang stated, still focused on his task. He won't allow Jet get to him.
"Alright, than if you won't have a go at her, maybe I will." Jet said, thinking about the beautiful young woman.
At this Aang was taken aback, so much so that he dropped the book he was about to place, looking straight at Jet, eyes wide.
At seeing his face, Jet began to laugh. "Hahaha, you should look in a mirror to see your expression. I guess that got a rise out of you," Jet stated, smirking and getting on Aang's nerves.
Taking a breath to calm himself, Aang knelt down to pick up the book he dropped, only for Jet to tilt the shelf down a bit so a few more books would fall. Aang began to feel his anger rise, but instead of allowing that, he looked up at Jet and trying to be as calm as possible, he said. "Jet, please stop. I have to sort these out before my shift ends." As he picked up the rest of the books to put them away.
"-Sigh- Here, I'll take care of that. Unless you want to work overtime." Jet declared, pointing over to a nearby clock hanging on the wall. Aang was stunned, he must of been so focused on work and Jet, that the time flew right by. Gathering his bag and signing out, Aang headed back to his apartment.
Taking the usual route, Aang walked down along the edge of the town he lived in. The town was named: Omashu Village, it's been around for centuries. It was a small town, but it had many stores, restaurants and even a school. Actually the school itself was divided between a high school and college. So anyone in town can go to school without having to move far out to some big city. The town was far away, between them and the next city closest to them was literally, nothing but forests. It would actually take half a days drive just to get to the closest populated area. The town resided along a massive lake, which Aang had an amazing view of, as he walked back home.
As he continued, he ended up walking by a castle overlooking the lake. The castle was massive, but had a chilling presence, the walls and roof were black as night, windows cracked and broken, gargoyle statues stood around the edges of the roof looking over the town. Looking toward the castle, Aang remembered hearing people talk about how it had been abandoned for centuries. Whenever he asked about why no one's claimed the castle, people would answer saying 'It's haunted' or other supernatural stuff. It ended up being closed off, putting a sign on the gate labeling it as 'Forbidden.'
As Aang continued to walk to his apartment, he remembered hearing about a legend: Long ago, centuries before, there lived supernatural beings of the night. Preying on others and taking their blood, these beings resided in this very castle. Actually, it's said that the castle is just as old as the town itself. One day, the villagers raided the castle, wiping out these creatures and ending their rain. Over time this story took multiple forms, but all described the creatures as beings of the night, drinking the blood of their prey.
Making it to his apartment, Aang went inside, setting his bag on the couch. Not looking at the time, he began making himself something to eat. Deciding to make some pasta, Aang started the stove, put some hot water in a pot and waited for it to boil. While waiting Aang began to get lost in his thoughts. Winter was approaching and he had a lot on his mind. From college, to paying for bills, rent and food, to wondering when Jet will make trouble for him again. Hearing the water come to a boil, Aang set the pasta in the pot. Once he was done cooking, he made himself a plate and ate in silence, thinking about his responsibilities which led him to think about his past.
He had arrived in town with his father three years ago, they had moved away after his mother had passed. He was in high school at the time, being in his second year. Which is around the time he met Jet, who tormented him through high school. He managed to graduate two years later, however a few weeks after graduation, Aang's father Gyatso became ill. Hospitalized and unable to work, Aang tried taking the responsibility of paying the bills and looking after the small house that they lived in. He managed to find a small paying job as a cleaner for a small pub. It wasn't much, but it was all Aang could manage, it just wasn't enough. Gyatso had stayed hospitalized for the remainder of his life. Which lasted almost a year ago, he passed in his sleep with hope that Aang can move forward. Though try as he might he couldn't, after his fathers death, Aang was put through great amounts of pain at the loss of his father. No family or friends, Aang was alone and with his low paying job, he was unable to keep the small house he and Gyatso stayed at. Which resulted in him ending up in an apartment. A few months passed, Aang managed to get a new job at the Library, it was hard with his father gone, Aang had to suffer and endure the heart ache and responsibility on his own.
Aang snapped out of his train of thought when he dropped his fork and noticed his plate was empty. Well, except for the tear drops that landed in his plate. Whipping his tear stained face, he put the plate in the sink and went to take a shower. After drying himself off, Aang put on some pj's and went to bed.
Aang was in a dark place, that's all he knew. He didn't know how he got here, nor did he see a way out. Suddenly, Aang began to hear noises of people shouting angrily. Looking behind him, Aang saw dark figures heading straight for him, holding objects above their heads like they were going to attack him. Feeling fear overcome him, Aang began to run. He kept running, but the voices were right behind him, so he pushed on despite his lungs burning and legs starting to ache. Suddenly, Aang saw the castle from earlier, seeing nowhere else to go, Aang headed straight for it, climbing over the gate. The loud voices lessened as he made it to the entrance, Aang pushed through the doors, but he was no longer at the entrance of the castle, rather he was in a room, a bedroom. Looking to the left side at the back, Aang saw a balcony, overlooking the lake with a full moon in view, bringing some light in the room. Looking to his right Aang gasped, holding his breath he saw a queen sized bed, with dark blue covers, high-lighted by gold outlines. However, it was what was on the bed that surprised him. Staring back at him was a pair of ocean blue eyes.