#69 Sunday

Dear diary,

I wish today hadn't happened.

-Jay



EDIT: Still wishing today hadn't happened. BUt, sadly, that's not how it works.

So here's my story.

Library Week came to a close today, and so to celebrate we (the staff) decided we were sick of patrons and that we should definitely go to the pub. The idea was that we'd draw straws, and the unlucky ones became designated drivers and had the morning shift on Monday.

As 5pm drew closer in the afternoon you could feel the anticipation building. TJ was standing by the clock, counting down the minutes, whilst Pepper shooed everyone out as quickly as possible. This was my seventh day in a row at work, because I'd needed the money, and I was very wound up aving not slept the night before. I lost it at one woman who came to the checkout counter at 4:59 and had fines and overdues on her card. In the five seconds it took for TJ to drag me away and Pepper to get to serve the woman, I'd yelled at her, cut up her card and had been frisbeeing her books over her head.

Boudecia was waiting in the staffroom. After hearing what had just happened she told Pepper and TJ to get a head start on the unwinding process at the pub, whilst she disciplined me for my actions. They left gratefully, and then it was just the boss and I.

Before she could say anything I revealed everything I knew about the monks and their activities to Boudecia this morning. If she was surprised she didn't show it; she simply nodded as I explained what I thought they were after. I finished my monologue and waited for her response. She asked me to get my L.U.B.E. as we were going to need it. At first I thought she was being very lewd and highly inappropriate, until it clocked and I got the Library Utility Belt and its Equipment. I laid out the equipment on the table...

...and then there was a knock on the back door. Nobody should have been there. Boudecia opened it without hesitation, and Sue Tonius walked in. Oh right, she was just collecting her research paper, I thought. She had a smirk on her face, and it was then that I noticed what was tucked under her arm: a familiar-looking black cloak with a sliver of gold. Boudecia and I stood there frozen as Sue draped the cloak over her clothes, her smirk changing to a wild grin.

S.I.R. wheeled around the corner. She must have repaired it, for it was back up and working, its red eyes gleaming at me in horrible recognition. Nobody moved or spoke for an eternity of seconds. I broke the moment by moving to put myself between Sue and the ReShelve™, which she had been eyeing on Monday. S.I.R. struck out an arm and dragged me out. I struggled wildly against it, but to no avail. It dragged me back to the Sequestered Shelves, threw me inside and locked the door.

I looked out through the tiny window to see S.I.R. tying Boudecia to a chair. She didn’t resist, but never too her eyes off Sue. Sue stared back at her, completely satisfied. She picked up the ReShelve™ and tossed it in her hand, a bemused and victorious expression on her face. She then picked up her research paper and tore of the back cover to reveal a scribbled paragraph. She recited it like a chant, though I couldn’t hear the words through the thick glass.

I turned away, shamefaced. I was so close to stopping this whole thing, but now I was trapped in here, unable to stop it from happening. I slumped against the door and looked into the pitch blackness of the Sequestered Stacks to see … Bookman! The ghost floated to the floor and came up right next to me, its luminescent eyes unreadable. I told him desperately what I needed to do, and he immediately floated off behind one of the Stacks. At first I heard nothing, and then the Stack slowly began to tip forward. I dived out of the way as it came crashing down on the door, twisting the metal and breaking it open.

I ran out of the room to see Sue fiddle with the ReShelve™, which was glowing a brilliant red. I ran to stop her but S.I.R. whacked me in the guts. I fell down, wheezing, but I wasn’t going to be defeated. After all, it was just a robot, whereas I was a Real Shelver. From my position on the ground I drew back my legs and kicked with all my might. S.I.R. flew back, taken by surprise, and crashed into Sue. I quickly got up and ran over to Boudecia. I untied her, then grabbed Sue’s paper. S.I.R. grabbed my arm from behind, and I spun around and stuck the thick essay right in its gut. It reeled back, looked down, saw I’d Shelved it real good, and then it died.

The ReShelve™ chose that moment to go haywire. Streaks of light burst out of it, and a piercing shrill wail ripped through the air. I shouted to Boudecia that we needed to stop the small time machine from going critical, as that was what Sue wanted: to use it to restore the library building to its original state, as the church of the Order of the Sacred Text. I saw Sue grab the ReShelve™ and shoot a triumphant look, which was short-lived as Boudecia walloped her over the head with the L.U.B.E. Boudecia took the machine, looked up at me, and for the first time ever she gave a small smile. And then she threw the device to the floor, and was consumed by the blinding light.

TO BE CONTINUED...