The Cardboard Box's Unsolved Mystery

11. It All Begins

RECAP -

"You know how you felt that pull that was probably leading to the book?" Ruby tilted her head suspiciously. A few strands of golden hair dangled delicately in front of her face, loose from her messy ponytail. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I, um, when I was looking for you, the exact same thing happened to me." Delionia and Ruby stared intently at Ammon, making him nervous. They were as motionless as statures, silent as a graves. "I had no idea where I was going, I couldn't see a thing. Yet, I felt this sudden energy and electricity surge through me, steering me through the rain. When I was a few metres before you, it disappeared."

Before anyone could reply, the colour in Ruby's face drained and her eyes went wide. She pointed frantically behind Ammon, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Delionia looked around in confusion. Ammon went rigid with fear and felt the blood in his veins turn cold. His eyes were transfixed on Ruby's trembling fingers. Muscles in his body went stiff and he didn't dare to turn around, not brave enough to face whatever was lurking behind him. Barely audible, a soft whimper full of dread managed to brush past Ruby's quivering lips.

"It's here."

END OF RECAP -

Ammon closed his eyes tightly, letting darkness swallow him. He waited for something to happen. A roar to shake the room. Cold claws to rip off his head. Rough hands to tackle him from behind. After a few terrifying seconds, nothing happened. The only thing reminding him that he was still alive was the erratic thumps coming from his beating heart. He opened his eyes carefully, but Ruby and Delionia were nowhere in sight. Where on Earth did they go? He blinked furiously, trying to decipher whether or not he was hallucinating.

"We're over here genius."

Delionia's sarcastic voice from behind startled him. Turning around, after a quick moment to breathe properly again, he walked next to the traumatized Ruby. Delionia was rubbing her hand soothingly on Ruby's shoulder, who was stiff under her touch. "Are you ok?" Ruby's eyes were frozen in shock, her face a mixture of disbelief, confusion and fear. Ammon followed her gaze and finally saw what Ruby was previously talking about. Standing innocently in front of the window, next to a flowerpot, was a book. However, Ammon knew it was no ordinary book. The familiar black cover sent chilling shivers down his spine. "Curses and other black magic." He mumbled under his breath, scepticism etched in his voice. Ammon was dumbfounded and in disbelief. It couldn't have been there before, could it? Lightning flashed angrily from the storm outside, illuminating the book with an eerie and menacing glow. Ammon picked up the book carefully, shivering at its unusually cold cover. "Is it the same one?" Ruby asked, her voice soft. Ammon found the borrowing slip but quickly covered it. Slowly and hesitantly, he moved his fingers to reveal what was underneath. Two dates were stamped into the book. '11th of Oct' and '12th of Oct' were imprinted with dark ink. Ammon could hardly believe what he was seeing.
It was the exact same book.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Delionia asked in an exasperated tone, obviously annoyed about being the only one clueless with what was going on. Alarm flashed across Ruby's faced as Ammon gripped the book tightly in silence. She sensed something wrong, and feared for the worse as she peered over Ammon's arm. "No, it can't be," she breathed in shock to herself. Ammon looked at her with blazing eyes and an emotion Ruby could not decipher. "Please tell me this isn't the same book." His voice was soft and low, surprising her as it was a tone she had never heard Ammon use. Ruby opened her mouth to reply, but the air in the library suddenly felt heavy and silence consumed the three of them. It was a silence none of them had ever experienced before. It was like their ears had been switched off, and they were surrounded by a glass bubble that was a huge, empty void of sound. The silence made them feel like they were being watched, as if the walls were holding their breath to listen to every word that was being said. Ammon felt his senses go alert, and the hairs on his neck stand on end. The air was eerie and thick. No one dared to speak, too afraid to break the silence that would shatter into pieces of glass at the smallest wisp of sound. Ruby darted her nervous eyes about and Delionia twisted her head around. Ammon felt his skin burn. He couldn't shake away the chilling sensation that they were being watched.