Waking up the next morning felt like returning to a new, fresh hell. All at once the memory of losing to Damon came flooding back. And though her stomach growled with hunger, all she could think about was the society, and how she could weasel her way in without an invitation. The kitchen, however, was empty, giving Elena all the more reason to head into town. Not only would she need to pick up some food from the market, but she could also stop into the town's library while she was out.

In doing this, advancing her search by one step, Elena felt much better. Losing to Damon had never been a part of her plan, of course, but she didn't want to let it derail everything, either. When she arrived at Harmon, she hadn't even heard of the society. But that didn't mean she wasn't passionate about it, didn't mean she wasn't interested, didn't mean it mattered any less.

On her way to the Harmon Library, she felt a sense of comfort in the town that she hadn't experienced before. For the most part, her relationship with Harmon didn't extend past the college campus. While the twins and Damon all lived in town, they'd lived fairly close to her dorm. This new apartment with Caroline, however, sat downtown, an hour or so walking distance from campus, with many an unexplored treasure, such as the library. Another library was always a delight.

Compared to the on-campus library, the town's library might as well have been a castle. It towered over the street with heavy stone architecture, a more recent build than the campus building. Once inside, Elena's mouth fell open. More books than she'd ever seen in her life were laid out before her, past a front desk with a framed map of the building behind it.

Not only was the building larger, but it was also much more organized. A flaw that Harmon College's library could never quite get over, despite how much time Elena had spent arranging the books when her mind became too full.

A typed brochure detailed a system called the Dewey Decimal System, one that the school's library could have benefited from. With the system and map, she easily found the sections she was looking for. She could have spent countless hours roaming the halls aimlessly, looking through each section with an awe unrivaled by anything but books.

But to start, she went to the history section and pulled anything that even came close to the subject of immortality. She also pulled anything she could find about the history of the town and it's founder, Arthur Harmon.

It didn't take long for the brunette, hair tucked into a hat, slouchy button-up shirt, and cardigan (yes, even in the summertime), to find a cozy corner of the library to settle into, surrounded by stacks of books.

Picking up one of the first books, a collection of scholarly essays regarding life and death, she read:

Immortality. A subject broached many a time before in many an age, by many a different people. To seek immortality is to understand the human condition, to want more from the hand we are dealt in this society, in one lifetime. It is only fair for mankind to continue this search century in and century out, as they seek to expand upon their legacy.

Unfortunately, many of these searches have been fruitless. The founding families of Harmon themselves took on this task, and while none know whether or not their search was successful, we expect the worst despite their greatness.

We continue to research the topic of immortality at great length, trying to determine whether or not such a phenomenon is possible, and how one could become ageless. Would it require the correct combination of medicinals? Or perhaps the finest scotch under the right moon? In this essay, I seek to collect all the available attempts, from near and far.

Immortality. She could barely believe that that was the topic she researched. Were there truly people out there who wanted to live forever? To her, it sounded quite daunting. And while she had goals, she hoped she'd be able to accomplish them in her lifetime. This men's research, to her, only sounded like a way for them to further impose themselves on generations to come. A way to exert even further power. And Elena was not interested. The only power she wanted was that of agency. The power to do what she chose without having to rely on a man to do it. To learn what she wanted, to go where she wanted, to purchase land, or vote in a local election. She hoped that at least some of those would be achievable in her lifetime.

But what did this mean for the society? Skimming through the remainder of the essay, she found only nonsensical attempts from the people of Harmon dating back to the early 1600s. It seemed something about this town brought about the desire to live forever.

She took a metaphorical step back, thinking about what she knew and what she'd learned so far. It wasn't much, but it could point her in the right direction, a much more difficult task when she didn't even know the puzzle she needed to solve, only that maybe if she persisted, a clue would fall into her lap or at least she'd learn something.

Arthur Harmon founded both Harmon College and Harmon's Great Minds. He worked with a woman named Celeste, and was sick, searching for a cure. Maybe when he couldn't find said cure, he turned toward the search for immortality instead. The cure-all. Celeste's father had also researched immortality at one point, which couldn't be a coincidence.

Maybe if she could find out who this Celeste person was, along with her family, she could learn more about Arthur in the process. In all the research she'd done, all records of Arthur Harmon proved to be incredibly scant. A brief outline of his life, but no details. That was the thread she'd have to follow.

Leaving her stack of books behind, she left her cozy corner and approached the front desk. A woman sat behind it, flipping through a book. For the most part, the library was empty. But Elena approached regardless, clearing her throat to get her attention, embodying the spirit of an arrogant man. Salvatore, perhaps?

"Excuse me. Where could I find records of those who have lived in Harmon since its founding?"

"I'm sorry?" the woman asked. She wore her straight blonde hair pinned up in a tight knot, blouse buttoned up all the way to the neck, and a fine skirt. If Elena had to guess, she was likely someone's sister or daughter. A connection of a wealthy man, for certain.

"I'm trying to trace my heritage back through history, have some lost relatives I'm hoping to identify," Elena said, offering a gentle smile.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, standing up abruptly and grabbing a ring of keys. "Right, of course. Follow me this way."

She led Elena up a set of stairs and into a room she'd yet to explore. "We keep most of the books regarding Harmon's history downstairs, of course. But there are a few more delicate items here." She motioned to a few books that were on display and began to unlock a few cabinets below. "The Harmon family liked to keep records of everything. From what I've read, Isaac was quite diligent…" she trailed off, cheeks flushing a light red. "Sorry, sir. I don't mean to speak where it is not my place." The librarian pulled out a few thick books, handing them over. "These are the records kept by the town. They may not be accurate, but they're the best we have. Please, be careful with them, and bring them to the front desk when you're done."

With that, she turned on a heel and quickly exited the room. If Elena had been anyone else, or perhaps any man, maybe the woman's words would have been annoying. But Elena found herself charmed instead, and happy to see another woman with a unique interest of her own.

Taking a seat at the table in the center of the room, she placed the stack of books in front of her. There were four of them, each with a time frame scrawled on the front in gold leaf.

1850 to 1900, 1800 to 1850, 1750 to 1800, and 1700-1750. The oldest was the smallest, the next doubling in size each time. The pages were thin, and the script was tiny, but readable, though she had to hold the book close to her eyes and squint to read some of the smallest text.

Each volume was broken up into 10 year increments, and within each of those chapters, one could say, was a list of thousands of names, birthdays, and ancestry notes. Some even contained addresses. But the records were incomplete in some places, and as they'd been done by hand, the surveyor likely erred or couldn't get certain information from certain parties. But nonetheless, it was the best record she had access too.

She spent the next several hours combing through the first volume of records. There were many Harmons, a quite large family from the looks of it. In the earliest volume, she found two familiar names, Isaac and Celeste Harmon. Father and daughter. While Isaac's entry was fully filled out throughout all the volumes, up until his death in 1715, Celeste's had been redacted multiple times. Her entry read:

Celeste Harmon. Born to Isaac and Genevieve Harmon in [redacted].

Combing through later volumes and the next tome, she found Celeste's record again and again, noting two particularly interesting details. The first noted a marriage in 1742, to one Arthur Harmon. The next noted her death twenty years later in 1762, with the cause of death standing out like bold print. Animal attack.

While answering some of her questions, a lot of these numbers and names just made everything more confusing. In her notes, she wrote: Celeste Harmon, no known birth date, married Arthur Harmon in 1742. Died in 1762 by animal attack. Father, Isaac Harmon, died in 1749 of natural causes. For a moment, she let the end of ink pen sit between her lips, trying to make sense of it all. But there was one more name she was interested in finding. One more name that she hadn't seen a mention of in the earlier records.

No, the first mention of Arthur Harmon didn't come until the 1740s. And even stranger, his name contained no notes on ancestry, no parents, and no kin, even up to his death, which was also redacted. Though his birth date was listed as 1713, so where had he come from? His name wasn't listened alphabetically, either, with the other Harmons. In the first instance of his record, he'd been tacked onto the end like an afterthought.

She scribbled down a few more notes. Arthur Harmon appeared in Harmon in the 1740s, around the age of twenty-seven, with no documented lineage. Married Celeste Harmon.

Arthur Harmon couldn't possibly have been a Harmon by birth. She thought back to the journal, to all she knew about him. Never once had he mentioned his own name. But why all the secrecy, even in the town's records? Why did Celeste lack a birthday, while Arthur seemed to come out of nowhere? Dropping her head into her hands, she slowly massaged her temples, the information borderline overwhelming. But it was a puzzle, like anything else, and she would figure out what was going on. No matter the headache it induced.

Gathering up the books, she returned them to the front desk with a smile. "Thank you," she offered, nodding in the librarian's direction.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" the librarian asked with a quirked brow.

"I think so. Actually, I have one quick question. If you don't mind."

"Of course not, by all means," the librarian said.

"You mentioned an Isaac earlier. Said something about him being diligent. Can you tell me anything more about him?"

"Oh, Isaac Harmon. I mean, we have plenty of books on our town's founder."

Town's founder? "I thought Arthur Harmon was responsible for the town's founding?" Elena asked, a brow quirked.

"He did do a great deal to put us on the map. But, well," the librarian leaned in closer, "you won't find this in any history books, but many think Arthur married Celeste for her money, for her name recognition. Many people believe that he was a nobody before he met the Harmons and that Isaac was a decent enough man to take him in."

"Interesting," Elena said. This certainly confirmed what she'd been thinking, that Arthur had come out of nowhere and taken the family name by marriage. But why? She'd never once heard of a man taking a woman's name before.

"It is. I wish there was more to tell, but there's not much record of what happened in those early days. Just speculation that Arthur had the ideas and Isaac had the deep pockets," the librarian said, both of her brows raising slightly, then dropping them and forcing a smile onto her lips. "Anyways, please do let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Regarding town history or your family, and whatnot, Mister?"

"Gilbert," Elena replied. "And thank you. I may have to take you up on that."

On the walk home, she couldn't get Celeste out of her mind. The mystery daughter with no birth date who'd married a man and gotten to keep her own last name. She must have been some woman. There was more to learn there, she knew it. The appearance of Arthur, the strange redacted information. It only made her believe even more that this was the trail she needed to follow, that if she only dug a little bit deeper, maybe she would find another string to pull.

By the time she sat down on the couch, journal open before her, the sun had gone down completely, and her eyes were heavy beyond belief. There were a few more notes she needed to take before she could let her eyes rest. She jotted down the following:

- Arthur Harmon did not appear in town record until the 1740s
- Arthur Harmon married Celeste Harmon in 1742
- Celeste Harmon was born to Isaac and Genevieve Harmon on an unknown date and was killed in an animal attack in 1762
- Arthur married into the Harmon name and was said to be the brains of the Harmon operation, while Isaac supplied the money
- Isaac Harmon died in 1749

She stared at the page for a moment before gripping the pen to continue writing, listing the many questions that still went unanswered.

- When was Celeste born, and why was that information redacted?
- Why didn't Celeste take Arthur's last name?
- Where did Arthur come from? What was his last name before he married Celeste?
- When did Arthur Harmon die?

Finally, she lowered her pen, stretched out her fingers to relieve the tension from writing so fast, from gripping the pen so tight. Despite all the information laid out before, she still felt like she'd learned hardly anything about the society, about immortality. But perhaps nothing would help more than a good night's sleep, and the chance to wake up the next morning and look at all she'd collected with fresh eyes.

A/N: Happy Sunday! Here's a super late update for you (it's 3:30am for me right now), but I just couldn't wait to get this up for you all! I'm so bad at sticking to schedules and have to restrain myself from uploading the entire act immediately. I am so so so excited to take you on this journey, however. I have 15 total chapters and let me just say, it's a WILD ride!

While I'm posting this, I'll also be working on a little surprise, something new that I'll be posting once this story is complete. It's not DE, but I can't wait to share it! Thanks again so much for reading my story, it means the world to me. I love all your reviews so much and they really inspire me to keep going!