The Library

Third Story

"What was that?" Gwen lost her footing, surprised as she was by the unexpected appearance.

"Just keep walking, you'll be fine," No. 7's usual rotten mood soured further, if that were even possible.

Gwen didn't want to get him started and have to listen to hours and hours of ranting about idiocy generously seasoned with phrases in languages she didn't understand, but the sight, if real, was too shocking to leave unanswered.

"If I didn't know any better, I swear I saw..."

"Oh, shut up, will you?" No. 7 turned around, with his usual curmudgeon persona proudly on display. "Let me guess: you think you saw an alien," he mocked, mercilessly. "Boo-hoo!"

"How did you..."

"Oh, shut up!" No. 7 continued his sulking, walking a few steps ahead.

"But..." Gwen insisted.

"I don't want to talk about it," he cut the conversation short. "Make yourself useful, if you're capable, and fill the flask, will you?"

They were at the tequila barrel, whose contents benefited from unusually warm weather and turned up an alcoholic content worthy of bragging rights.

"Here's another one!" Gwen pointed to a rock nearby, from behind which a weird-looking creature's eyes gleamed in the afternoon sun.

"Yes, they're everywhere. It was too good to last, wasn't it? Them leaving us alone!"

"Who... what... how..." Gwen mumbled incoherently, not sure which question to ask first. "How could you not tell me? Are they evil?"

"Πολλά τα δεινά κουδέν ανθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει" [ "There are many evils and there is no worse evil than man."  Sophocles, 496-406 BC, Ancient tragic poet ‐ Antigone ]

"How long have they been here?"

"There's nothing worse than people who think they know what they're talking about. They've been here forever, ok? You have not. We're in a zoo. They picked us up one by one, and it's getting uncomfortably crowded. You'd think they'd build us an extra cage, but no... "

He looked at Gwen, irked she couldn't compose herself enough to utter a sentence in response.

"Yeah, that's what I thought! While you're still quiet, you're not on Earth, literary genius! God, I hate stupid people!"

The situation seemed so dire, Gwen didn't even consider getting offended, while panic built up to threatening levels in her cardiovascular system, and the only thing she could think to ask was why.

"So far they only picked up the smart'ems, although they seem to have made an exception in your case," he stated matter of fact, and then reconsidered and continued. "Maybe they wanted to learn what the brains of females were like and you're the best they could come up with on short notice."

"Where is here?"

"Damn if I know!" No. 7 continued, morose. "Too far to tell, that's for sure. If you nursed any hope to see your home again, now would be a good time to lay it to rest."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, judging by the stellar configurations, which you didn't have enough scientific curiosity to study, we're beyond the boundaries of our visible universe. I can't recognize anything."

He paused, throwing dirty looks towards the alien behind the rock, who was still gawking at them in a way that gave him the creeps.

"At first I thought they brought us here to colonize the planet, oh, wipe that shocked look off your face, they multiply by cloning, I think they're still waiting for our lot to undergo mitosis, not as smart as you'd think, I'm afraid, but the reality is a lot more depressing: we're part of their living entities collection, here to satisfy their curiosity. Their young are the worst. Like that little creep over the boulder, they'll stare at you with their beady little eyes until you get a headache. Other than that, they never tried to harm us. They just stare. "