The Library

Chapter 1- 73 days

I wander through the shelves in the library, aimlessly looking at random book titles and scattered files. In several places piles of papers with list of names and dates lay scattered on the ground unattended. I move around these piles, too bothered with my own thoughts to care. Today is my seventy third day in the library. Seventy three days I've spent wandering and looking out the muddled windows. Windows that are so caked with dust that you can't even see a ray of sun light from outside. That is if there is even a ray of anything out there.

In the days I've spent here, I've only come across a few other people. Others, who like me, have no idea the purpose we serve here. They also have no recollection of past memories. As far as I can tell, anyone in the library only knows their name, that's it.

No memories of family, or blowing out candles on birthdays, not even memories of school. You would think something, anything, would be there. But it's like my mind's become a blank slate. There's nothing, just nothing.

"Sienna, what are you doing?"

I continue on with my course, making turns every now and then trying to find an exit. "Looking for a way out." I here a muffled response and turn just in time to see a head of blue black hair smack against the corner of a bookcase.

"Sage!"

I rush forward and check for injuries. I move his hair away from his forehead and gasp in surprise. Not even a red mark mars his perfectly porcelain skin. "I'm fine." He mumbles as he brushes my hands aside and gets up.

"That didn't hurt?"

He shrugs and stands next to me. "You know it didn't, it never does."

I don't answer because honestly, the little things like this that make up the library still weirds me out. "More of a reason to get out of here." I stand up and start walking more fervently down isles and isles of bookshelves.  "Because we feel no pain?" He asks, jogging to catch up with me. 

I ignore him and continue walking.

"Look Sienna, there's no way out, you know that. How many days have you spent looking for an exit and have failed?"

"You don't know that Sage."I say without stopping. 

"I know enough to figure out by now that after three hundred and sixty five days of being in this library that we are in a maze."

I stop walking. "You never told me you've been in here for three hundred and sixty five days." I whisper.

He shrugs. "You never asked."

Suddenly my seventy three days don't seem like so many after all. "Sage..." I turn and start maneuvering around scattered papers and books to get to him. "I'm sorry." I say while engulfing him in a hug. 

"Yeah, well it's not your fault."

"Still." I mumble. Sage sighs and breaks apart our hug. "Look if you're really interested in finding a way out I'll help you."

"Really!" I ask excitedly. I'm about to start throwing out ideas of where to start when he holds up a finger, silencing me. "On one condition. I come with you."

"Fine." I say in a heart beat. 

"Really?" He asks, seeming shocked. 

"Yeah fine, I wouldn't have it any other way." He grins and I can't help but grin back. He has such a nice grin.

"Okay well first things first we look through the files." He says while bending down and picking up the first one he sees. "A....K....M...they're all out of order. This is the wrong one." He says while tossing the folder, causing papers to fly everywhere.

Before I know it he's rushing ahead of me to another folder. "X...D....Z....God this is annoying. What did you say your last name was again?"

I frown, confused at where this is going but answer anyway. "Lancaster. Why?" He flips through more papers before tossing that folder too. 

"Because Sienna. If we can find your name in these papers...." He motions in a circle around the library. "Then we might be able to find out why your here, and then maybe, just maybe, find a way out."

I let that sink in a minute. All these papers, all this time. I could have been passing my name! "Your a genius Sage!" I run up to him and give him another hug. He picks me up and swings me around in a circle, causing me to giggle. Once he sets me down I notice he's smiling from ear to ear. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's start looking!"

I smile back and begin picking up folder after folder looking for a 'Sienna Lancaster' and a 'Sage Mickelson' somewhere on the dotted lines.