#14 Disaster, part 2

(Previously, in Shelver Explorer: The poltergeist warns me that the library system will crash. I manage to stop the library from self-destructing, but witness the devastation caused by system failure. The story picks up after I am knocked unconscious in the line of duty...)

I awoke groggily to find the front desk empty. Books scattered the floor, and the check-in computer lay broken on the carpet. After a moment my hearing returned. Someone's wailing was cut short by the sound of a book snapping shut. I stumbled to my feet. Drunkenly I wobbled forward, grasping a trolley for support. The exit was just a few metres away, but instead I took the trolley and sped in the direction of the scream.

Gathering momentum I leapt onto the trolley, a heavy tome in each hand for balance. I leaned and steered through Fiction. I could hear murmuring from the back of the library. As I passed alng the Reference aisles I caught a glimpse of a leg sticking out from under a carrel. I jumped off the trolley and dashed over. It was the guy from Teenage who'd given me the greasie, and he was trapped under a fallen carrel. I positioned my feet, thought back to the OHS training I did on my first day, and hefted the desk up. It was surprisingly heavy - either my muscles had slackened because I had just been knocked out, or I'm really that weak.

I slung his arm over my shoulder and picked him up, supporting his weight on mine. We stumbled over like a three-legged race entrant, over to my trolley which had burst through the Local History room doors. I loaded the guy onto the trolley and wheeled it out of the room. In the meantime a bookcase had fallen down and was blocking our path. The only direction we could take was through Teenage.

It was a minefield. Books lay with their spines bent out of shape. A folio lay on its back, pages flapping lifelessly as the fan above rotated wildly. I found a Dan Brown, impaled by a student's protractor. Nobody would read this book again. I closed its cover ceremoniously. It was then that I remembered I still had the keycard, and the staffroom lay just ten metres away. The only obstacle was the fan, which had gathered force and was spinning at a dangerous Mach 2. With a heavy sigh I hefted the Dan Brown at the fan. It connected with one of the propellors, sending the fan jolting chaotically and slowing it down. I charged with my faithful trolley towards the door and let us in.

Ernesto greeted me and wrapped me up in a fire blanket. I collapsed onto a chair and let him do the talking. He said Goldie had led most of the patrons out the front exit, and that he'd been wandering around searching for survivors. He hadn't seen me take a hit and he apologised deeply. He picked up the other guy, who had slipped back into unconsciousness, and together we walked out the back way. When I opened the rear door Sylvia was there, back from her lunch break.

"Wow Jay, you look really beaten. Did I miss anything exciting?"