Chapter Five

The three men turned left onto the street of the radio station, but there was a blockade across the road. Leon was in the miniscule backseat of the Smart Car, but he ducked down as far as he could. Carlos threw his jacket over him, providing him just a tiny bit more of anonymity, and Cecil pulled to a stop.

"Hello, sir," he said cheerily to the man holding the large gun and wearing heavy riot body armor.

"This road is blocked off by orders of the World Government," said the man. "Turn your vehicle around and be on your way."

"Alright!" said Cecil. "Have a great barricade!" He turned the car around and began off in the i4

"What do we do now?" asked Leon, emerging from under Carlos's coat.

"I don't know," said Carlos. "The World Government's usually only involved if something really big is going down, otherwise the Sheriff's Secret Police would be all over it."

"Yeah," said Cecil, turning back to speak to Leon." "We'd best just wait the blockade out until—"

"Cecil!" exclaimed Carlos. Cecil whipped his head around and saw the girl in the road ahead of them. He screamed and jerked the wheel sharply to the left. The Smart Car missed the girl, but the momentum tilted it over onto its side, to the grass past the curb.

"Eurgh…" groaned Cecil, rubbing his head. Carlos was draped over him, and he carefully pushed himself back into his own seat and undid the seat belt. He maneuvered to the ground and began to work on Cecil's belt.

"Are you both okay?" he asked. Some blood dripped down his arm as he pulled Cecil upright.

Leon pulled himself up, cracking his neck to the left and right as he did. He had sustained no major injuries. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm just happy I didn't crash the car for once."

"I'm fine," said Cecil. "My head, though…" he said, putting his fingers to his forehead.

"Let's get out of this lunchbox," said Leon, pushing open the passenger side door and pulling himself up through it. Carlos helped Cecil to his feet, and Leon helped him up. He then pulled Carlos up as well, and all three stood on the grass next to the wrecked Smart Car.

Carlos began performing a concussion check on Cecil, and Leon turned back to the street. The girl that they had swerved to avoid was crouched behind a small shrub on the opposite side of the street, using binoculars to stare at the blockade a couple of blocks away.

"Who's that?" asked Leon. Carlos joined him on the sidewalk, followed by Cecil.

"That's Tamika Flynn!" said Carlos.

"She's missing!" said Cecil, straightening his glasses. "After she went rogue from the summer reading program…"

"What?" asked Leon. "What do you mean, she escaped from the Summer Reading Program? Do kids here hate reading that much?"

"It's not like that, Leon," said Carlos. "Actually, when the people here in Night Vale talk about libraries, and librarians, and all of that, they're really talking about something much different than you'd expect."

"I'm pretty much a seasoned guy," said Leon. "I have a feeling that not much you'll throw at me will surprise me."

"The librarians are crazed, mutated maniacs that regularly attack anyone who tries to use the public library," said Carlos.

"Those zany librarians," said Cecil, chuckling.

"About a year ago, the kids who were taken hostage as a part of the Summer Reading Program busted their way out of there, and they haven't been the same since the incident."

"Wait…" said Leon. "Are we talking about a biohazard?"

"I'm not sure," said Carlos. "I've never gotten close enough to one of the librarians to tell if they are bio-organic weapons."

"But Tamika would have," said Leon. "And I need to find out more. Biohazards are serious business—I've dealt with them before. And you said there were others?"

"Oh, yes," said Cecil. "There's a bunch of them, the missing children. I have a list back at the radio station, and the management has me read their names every so often, to make sure that folks out there keep their eyes out for any kids that might be wandering around."

"I'm going to talk to her," said Leon.

"Wait, I'm not sure if that's the best—"

Cecil trailed off as Leon walked across the street to the girl in the bushes, who had not yet seemed to have noticed the wrecked car that had swerved to avoid her.

"Hello," said Leon. "Tamika, is it? My name is—"

"Shut up and get down," replied the girl. "If I get caught by these bozos, I'm making sure that you are spread across the street farther than that damn barricade." Leon now noticed the large hunting knife that she held in her hand, and the even larger assault rifle that laid across her lap. He crouched down to his haunches.

"I hear that you've been inside of the library," said Leon.

Tamika turned to him, with an incredulous expression spread across her hardened face. Leon wouldn't have believed, had he not already known, that she was only thirteen or so.

"Of course I was in the library," said Tamika. "I was a part of the Summer Reading Program. That idiot blabs about it on the radio all the time. What, have you been living under a rock or something?"

"No," said Leon, "I've actually been on the move quite a bit. I haven't really gotten an opportunity to listen to local radio, though."

Tamika wasn't paying attention to him. She had her eyes trained on the barricade. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have more important things to deal with right now," she said. She stood and hauled herself over the bush in one even motion and began running over to the barricade. Cecil and Carlos rushed across the street to Leon.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Cecil, waving his arms as he talked. "That's Tamika Flynn! That's dangerous!"

"Leon was about to reply when a scream and some gunshots came from down the street. The three men peeked over the bushes to see the World Government agents at the barricade all collapsed at their posts, slain by the small body that was running away from them toward the radio station.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Leon. "She just killed those men!"

"She could've killed you, too," said Cecil. "Count yourself lucky."

"I don't think you understand the dynamic here," said Carlos. "I'm not saying that it's okay to just kill people, but things are different here than anywhere else in the world."

"What do we do?" asked Leon. "Should we call the police?" He was unsure, based on Cecil and Carlos's reactions, of what the best plan of action would be.

"The Sheriff's Secret Police has probably been watching the whole time," said Cecil. "Besides, aren't they after you right now, for violating the new helicopter color identification ordinance? Perhaps it would be best not to call any extra attention to yourself."

"Then, let's go to the radio station," said Leon. "The barricade's gone now, though the means weren't the best." He shed his jacket and began walking back across the street. "I guess there's really no need to conceal my weapon at this point, and it's too hot to be wearing this, anyway." He draped the jacket over the car. "We'll come back for this as soon as I can report back to my at-home agent."

"I think I can reroute the radio station's signals to patch you through," said Carlos. "Let's go." Cecil nodded, and the three of them walked through the destruction caused by the thirteen year old survivor of the Summer Reading Program, toward the radio station.