The Library of Beasts

Prologue

The library smelt faintly of wet paper and old rusted metal. It was unpleasantly dim and the few light sources came from burning candles spread about the shelves. I had heard the rain pour outside the windows, but the sound hadn't fully registered in my mind until after the fact. I was too focused on the figure standing in front of me.

It was a tall figure well over six feet, and it had long and dangly limbs. There were no defining features and it looked almost like a silhouette besides the face. It was the librarian's face, but not the librarian. The face was long and stretched as if it pulled the skin over its head and there were no indications of eyes. The teeth were similar to a piranha, long and sharp with the red stains of blood built on them. Eye-less holes stared at me as I took in the scene.

A girl was on the ground, she was someone that had been in my science class I noticed. She had laid there, mutilated with blood oozing from her carnaged corpse. I thought I would have been scarred, petrified even, but no emotion of the sort had surfaced. I just stood there breathing in the scent of iron and leather-bound books. I brought myself to look into the eyeless holes of the creature and it had a look of confusion over its rubbery face.

"You are not afraid," it said in a low and dark tone, unlike the librarian I never bothered to remember the name of. It phrased it as a statement rather than a question and that had struck me as odd. I thought it rude not to reply, so I spoke quietly.

"No."

It made a low hum in the back of its throat. I blinked, and suddenly it was no longer the shadowy figure I had seen. The librarian had replaced it, and his features looked as if nothing had happened. I had never cared to take in his face before, but now the stark details were all the more prevalent. He had a strong jaw with light stubble and sunken gray eyes as if having never slept. His hair was a deep brown with graying hairs at the sides of his face. He looked normal and I would almost consider him quite handsome if not for what I had just seen moments before. His thick glasses hung on his nose, just on the brink of slipping off his face. He pushed them up with his index finger and smiled a bit abashed.

"I'm quite sorry for the mess. I wasn't exactly expecting visitors this late at night. Speaking of, students aren't allowed in the library after eight pm."

His voice was gentle with a gravelly tone. It was unexpected when compared to the voice heard from the creature. I presumed that the creature and the librarian were the same person, but I was in the middle of a conversation at the moment and it was ill-mannered to stand and think of theories now.

"I wanted to look for a book, but I just couldn't wait until morning to get it so I snuck out. I had hoped the library would be empty, so it seems we're both a bit caught off guard."

He let out a huff that was almost a laugh and smiled.

"It seems so. I am afraid that I have to make sure my little secret doesn't get out though. I am truly sorry it had to end this way. I only planned to kill this one girl, honestly, but it seems I will get an extra snack tonight."

A malicious grin spread across his face as his sentence ended. His tired eyes now held bloodlust inside them. I knew that look very well. Any other day I wouldn't have protested much to dying, but that day I was in much more of a curious mood. Things had just got interesting and I couldn't be devoured now.

"I must protest against this plan, unfortunately. I am now quite invested in this little conspiracy you have weaved in front of me. It would be a shame if I died right when my life was getting interesting. If it makes you feel better, I don't have much ambition to spread this around. I don't have many friends to tell, and if I did they surely wouldn't believe me anyway."

The librarian seemed to ponder my response. His bushy brows tightened and creased thick lines in his forehead. Gray eyes seemed to contemplate for a moment. His lips formed a thin line until he spoke.

"You are a strange child. You are much like me and that frightens me a bit, I must admit. I don't remember seeing you in the library much. What's your name?"

"My name is Theodore Greenwood. I'm in year 11 and I moved here a few months ago."

Curiosity and contemplation had begun to mix in his facial features as a hand came to scratch his scruffy beard. He let out a puff of air as his eyes turned to me.

"Alright Theodore, since I've decided to spare your life, you're going to owe me. You have to work as my assistant here in the library."

He held a large grin and had ushered me out of the library in an instant. With his face peeking through the library doors, he told me that he would explain all the details tomorrow morning. I walked silently back to my dorm. A chill ran up my spine from the cold corridor.