The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

4

We all walk to the library window, and try to peak through the gaps in the blinds. All I saw were rows of books and pure darkness except for the gaps in the window revealing a slight light source and several dust particles.

"Is it locked?" Nancy asks.

Steve turns the knob and tries to push in. "Yeah, it at least has one lock. I wonder if we can-"

"Here, step aside Harrington." Eddie pushes Steve aside softly and cracks his knuckles. "You know it comes in handy when you're shown grand theft auto. I can pick locks with bobby pins, tennis balls, you name it. I can also roll a cigarette in fifteen seconds."

"Alright Mr. Show off, just get us in, please. It's hot." Robin fans herself.

"Spoil my moment, Buckley." He bends down, his knees cracking. Nancy hands him a bobby pin from her curly hair and he gets to work.

"This might take a while." Dustin sighs as he leans against the brick building.

"Annnnd, done." The lock clicks and the door creaks open. He stands up and gestures us in with his arm, bowing. "You said, Henderson?"

Dustin slaps his arm and we all walk inside. We all start immediately coughing, the dust impaling our noses.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone has been here in a while." Robin coughs. I look around. There were books on the ground, pages open. There were papers scattered all over the place, and some shelves were broke. My feet crunch into something. I look down and then up at the ceiling, which had shattered lights.

"Something happened here." I said.

"Yeah, something." Eddie waves the dust away.

"Hopefully it wasn't those things." Nancy says.

"Um.. I think it was." Dustin says kneeling down. His finger traces along a shelf, showing us a finger full of black liquid.

"Shit!" Steve says flinging a book across the floor.

"It's fine. Let's just.. find the book before they try to return." I say looking over the receptionist counter. "There's nothing here. Files wiped clean which means they had time to evacuate. Let's start on the shelves, there has to be something there. Keep your eyes peeled just in case."

Everyone splits up. Eddie and I went to the left side, Dustin and Steve to the middle, and Nancy and Robin to the right.

"And this is why I hate libraries." Eddie mumbles.

"Because of why?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Because this is where all the creepy shit happens and people die." He looks at me and shrugs to my dead gaze.

"Really, Munson. Really?" I smile and shake my head.

"If you really think about it we are living an actual horror movie- no- we are the stars in it."

"Well I promise you this won't be put on VHS anytime soon." I joke.

"Not funny. Because if we die then I don't get to read my own bad ass biography." He pulls books out and looks at each one of them individually. "And I hate reading unless it's The Hobbit or any D&D Lore."

"Yeah, well you're going to have to adjust to this for a few until we find where to start." We were in the A, B, C, and D section. "It wouldn't be here." I say slowly. I look to Eddie who crosses his arms and looks at me. "It would be in D. D for the damned. Or maybe even V for Vecna." I go to the end of the shelf and yell out. "Nancy, Robin!"

"Yeah?!" Robin yells back.

"You guys are by V right?"

"Yeah, we are!" Nancy says.

"Look for Vecna! Dustin, Steve look for S. A symbols book or something!"

"Rodger that!" Dustin says.

"Hey, I was gonna say that!" Steve whines. Him and Eddie were too alike- it was uncanny. I roll my eyes.

I pull out D book after D book. It just have been at least fifteen minutes of searching this big as section. But I got a whole lot of nothing. Eddie was above me pulling from the top since he could reach.

"Wait, I think I found something." He pulls out s dark red book and hands it down to me. I wipe the cover and blow on it, reading The Damned Lore in gold engraved letters.

"Eddie, this is perfect! Just what we needed!" I stand up and go on my tip toes, grab his face, pull his into mine, and smash our lips together. I had no embarrassment or shame from doing it anymore. His reaction was worth it. I pull back and he gives me a what the hell look. "This will have plenty of information." I walk to the front and so do the rest. Each of them have a book in hand. "No way?" I say approaching them. I grab a book from Steve that says Ancient Symbols and Their Meanings then one from Nancy that says Vecna: The Origins of Dungeons and Dragons.

"I think we definitely have what we need now," Dustin says smiling and nodding.

"Hell yeah we do," Steve says.

"Thanks guys." I look to all of them and they nod in return. "We need to hit the books and get going before it's too dark out" I say. We all leave the building and pack into the RV once again. This all felt so repetitious except last time we barely got any information- however, it did save my life.