What Lurks in the Library

Julius Highbaugh loved books more than anything. He read a book every couple of days and listened to audiobooks when he walked to and from Midvale Junior High. School was a mixed bag. He liked math, science, English - all the classes except Gym. He was good friends with two of his teachers, but his fellow students were nasty and picked on him.

The worst bully was Dwayne Morales. In gym class, Dwayne made Julius's life a living hell. He kicked him, spit on him, punched him and pinned him down. One day, when Dwayne had Julius in a choke hold, Julius locked eyes with him. It was a strange moment. Dwayne felt it, too, and pushed Julius away with disgust.

"Faggot! What're you looking at?"

Julius didn't say anything, because he didn't know an answer that would prevent further physical abuse. 

Dwayne shuddered and pushed him away. In that instant, Julius realized that Dwayne had been so focused on him because deep down he was into him. Julius hated Dwayne, but had to admit that he felt something for him, too. The thought was too scary. Julius was going to graduate college, get married, have kids, and retire early. He had always imagined doing that with a woman, but today he got a momentary glimpse into another side of himself he never knew existed.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Dwayne had vanished; Julius was alone in the locker room. He changed quickly. He had plans to stop at the library and swap out his stack of books for another. It was Wednesday. Budget cuts meant that the library was only open until four, so he would have to be quick about it.

As Julius trotted towards the library, he thought he heard something behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Dwayne lumbering towards him.  Julius broke into a run and made it two blocks to the library. Out of breath, he scanned the sidewalk. Dwayne had given up. He thought about calling the cops. His parents wouldn't let him have a phone, but he begged them to let him use theirs. They agreed to one hour of phone time twice a week.

Relieved, Julius passed through the metal detector and dropped his pile of finished books on the returns counter.  The librarian whose name he never remembered gave him a kind smile. Librarians love people who read.

The Midvale library was nearly as old as the town itself. It was an impressive brick structure with Corinthian columns flanking the entrance. Inside the two story structure were several rooms for different age groups. Julius had graduated from the kiddy book room. He spent a lot of time in the young adult section, perusing and selecting fantasy and horror books. He sometimes chose a book he had seen on Instagram, but he also let his instincts dictate his selections. He was seldom wrong. In truth, every book was worth reading, even the crappy ones. It was rare that Julius decided not to read a real stinker.

After getting the latest Cassandra Clare novel out of Young Adult, he moved over to the Horror section. He had read everything by Steven King at least three times, but there were plenty of other choices. These were grownup books, sometimes with graphic sex scenes, but the librarians never stopped Julius from borrowing them. He liked the sex scenes, but he really liked being scared while he read. It was much more manageable than the fear he felt at the hands of his tormentor. Thinking of Dwayne just then made him flinch. 

There were no new horror books on the shelf, so Julius had to select something he hadn't read yet from among a mass of books he had read once or twice.  He found a fat collection of H.P. Lovecraft short stories hidden behind the L's. Its title was new to him "Doomed Mountains and Whispered Shadows".  He checked the list of stories, and there were at least a dozen he had never heard of nor read. He jumped so high, he hit his head on the top shelf. He only had two books, and he needed at least one more to get him through the week. But something urgent was bubbling.