#36 Sojourn, part 1

Dear diary,

For the past few weeks I've been avoiding Boudecia. She hasn't approached me since I witnessed her metamorphosis, and I certainly didn't want to bring it up, so it was fairly mutual. I hadn't told anyone else about it either - I mean, it's not the kind of thing which normally comes up in conversation. I was quite content to leave it unsaid. But that wasn't to be.

She approached me as I was shelf-reading in Fiction. I saw her coming but when I tried to stand I found the pins-and-needles that had set in my legs made that slightly impossible to achieve. I looked up timidly as my transforming boss towered above me, blocking out the fluorescent lighting and casting a heavy shadow upon me.

“Come with me, boy. It is time you learnt more about the library, what it truly is. I eed you to assist a… member of staff.”

Her command was so impelling that I stood to attention despite the protest from my legs. Boudecia led me to the staffroom, where Ernesto was waiting for us. His eyes gleamed knowingly, and I felt a wave of peace wash over me to combat the fierce intensity of Boudecia.

Without a word the two librarians turned and walked toward the locked door at the back of the staffroom. They each reached into their pockets and retrieved identical silver keys. They inserted the keys into the two locks simultaneously. I heard several clicks, like a horde of scuttling scarabs, and the door creaked open.

I walked past the two doorkeepers slowly and entered the room. Behind me I heard a SLAM! as the door shut. I pounded on the door with my fists, but to no avail. The room was pitch black and felt damp. There was a feint ‘whooshing’ sound all around. I brought out my trusty Swiss army knife and turned on the flashlight, then immediately wished I hadn’t.

Pale silhouettes floated around the storeroom, their features translucent and ectoplasmic. They flickered from one colour to the next, never staying one for too long. It was like a rainbow was exploding inside every one of them. My jaw dropped, as did my army knife. The light switched off the moment it hit the floor, and the room was flown into darkness once more.

I bent down to pick up the army knife, desperate to have light, to be able to see the things I now knew were everywhere around me. I fumbled with it nervously before finally locating the right button. The light high-beamed a ghost which was right I front of me. It wore a face I have never forgotten: it was the poltergeist, the one Ernesto and I banished last year by pouring it down the sink. Both it and I stared at each other, frozen in uncertainty. We must’ve reached a decision at the same time, because as I backed away it came towards me, eyes menacing. My back hit the all, and I knew I was trapped here, in a corner in a storeroom, with nowhere to go…

To be continued…