Moving to Hell

The crazy librarian

When Lulu had left Valentino and I alone, we both assumed she went back home. Only we'd mistaken the concept of "home". Turns out she didn't leave town at all. 'Oh Demons from the Dark and Bad, adore me!' She's spread her hands and is looking up to the sky. She's standing around a bonfire. She's in the most deserted part of the town. She has a creepy smile on her face. The fire's reflected in her eyes. 'I've given myself to you. I've given you my life!' Lulu shouts. There's a lot of whispering around her. The spirits and demons are all around her. They're everywhere. 'Gift me your great power and let me rule amongst you!' She continues. 'Oh Great Demons, accept my the gift! I've slaughtered my parents, so you could feat on them, give me this in return!' A lightning strikes next to her; it's a sign. Finally, the Demons accept her offer. They fly towards her and go inside her. They emerge with her, give her their power. The power of the Demons.

In the mean time, we've arrived at home. We're all out of breath. The house seems to be out of breath with us. It looks even more fragile and old than it did before. It creaks and squeaks with every movement we make. Our breath lingers in our throats. 'We've survived,' Johnny says. He drops himself on the couch. 'Barely,' I say. I drop myself next to him and a sigh escapes my mouth. 'There will come a time in which we won't survive,' Valentino says. I don't like hearing it and for a moment I wanted to get mad at him, but then I realized he's right. No one reacts. Valentino walks back and forth in the room. 'Can you stop doing that? You're making me nervous,' Johnny says irritated. Valentino doesn't hear him. He's lost in his thoughts. 'I keep thinking...' he slowly says. 'Oh good, you use your brain.' Again he ignores it. 'I've been here for a longer time than you two and yet before you arrived, the town never tried to kill me.' Johnny frowns and looks at me. 'I mean, sure, the town has always been weird and spooky, but nothing ever happened...' 'That must mean something, right?' I ask. I look questioning at my brother and my friend. 'Most likely,' Johnny answers. I make a squeaky sound. I look scared. Johnny lays his arm around my neck. 'There must be something we can do to stop this,' Valentino sounds convinced of it. 'Something like what?' Valentino goes with a hand through his hair. He seems to be thinking. 'There's this thing I've recently read in a book in the library, but I can't quite remember what it was...' He mumbles something else after it, but neither Johnny nor I understand what. 'Alright,' Johnny says after a while. He stands up from the couch. 'The best thing we can do, is go to the library and find that book. It's the best clue we have for now. If Valentino here is sure about it, I'm willing to take the change.' I didn't expect him to say that, let alone agree with Valentino. I actually thought he hated him. I can't help to smile. 'We'll all go. I think we have the best change of finding it, if we all search for it.' Johnny walks over to the coat rack and grabs his jacket. He continues: 'And we better do it fast. I don't want to be trapped in this town any longer than we have to.'

The library was an impressive and big building. It casts large shadows on the ground that have an ominous look. It doesn't give me a good feeling. Valentino places his hand on the doorknob and pushes it down. It's quiet inside. There's absolutely no sound at all. You can't even hear the sounds from outside and even the sound of our own breathing sounds muted. 'You sure nothing has happened to you when you went to this place?' Johnny asks a little uncertain. He doesn't feel comfortable either. Valentino nods. 'Absolutely sure.' Slowly we walk past the shelves. I slide my fingers over the spines of the books. I thought they'd be covered in dirt and dust, but they're all surprisingly clean. 'Do you remember anything about this book?' My brother's sharp voice scared me a little. I almost made a jump in the air. 'It has a blood red cover, made of the skin of a snake and there are gold letters written on it. I believe it's called "Snapped",' Valentino tells. I don't understand how anyone in the right mind would want to read a book looked like that. Even thinking about it already gives me the shivers. 'Why don't we all pick a shelve?' Johnny suggests, 'Jackie, you search that one, Valentino looks over there and I do this one.'