Night Vale Unsolved

29

"Dear listeners, it seems that there is something going on down at the Library." Cecil glanced at a slip of paper in his hand, which had been handed to him by the latest station intern. He liked Alex, and was sure it would be a long, productive internship.
"As we all know," Cecil continued, "The Library is home to the dangerous Librarians, who are always more than happy to devour unaware readers. Few who have encountered a Librarian in person have lived to tell the tale. One of these survivors," He added in a much more cheerful tone, "Is our very own Councilwoman Tamika Flynn, who gave a press conference earlier today."
Cecil hit play on the recording of the press conference. As it played over the airwaves, he leaned back in his chair and sighed, wondering absentmindedly about whatever was happening at the Library.
Everyone in Night Vale, Cecil reflected, knew about the dangers that lurked between shelves and around corners in the Library. But then again, it was the only public library in Night Vale.
Some risks just have to be taken.
And so most people in Night Vale knew about the safety precautions one should take during a trip to the Library. The most successful precaution, with a survival rate of almost 100%, was of course to avoid having to go to the Library.
Other than that, survival rates dropped pretty significantly.
Just then, the recording of the press conference stopped, and so Cecil switched his microphone back on and resumed his show.

In another part of town, Carlos was just getting back to his lab after his lunch break. He sat down at his desk and turned on the radio.
"...and so the City Council would like to remind us all about Forbidden Knowledge. The reminder is that you should not know the Forbidden Knowledge. If you do-"
"Carlos!"
At his name, the scientist looked up to see two men standing in the doorway. He realized after a moment that it was Ryan and Shane, and that they were out of breath.
"What happened?" He asked them as they sat down.
Once he'd caught his breath, Ryan said, "We-we went into the Library,"
"You what?"
"The Library," Shane repeated, his breath still short, "Just curious. Had to run all the way back."
Ryan nodded, doubling over with a long sigh.
Carlos sighed as well. Of all the places they had to explore...
"Well, I'm just glad you're alright." He eyed them sharply. "You are alright, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Shane assured him, "Yeah, we're good."
"What was that thing?" Ryan asked.
"That," Carlos sat back down, satisfied that they were indeed ok, "Was a Librarian."
Neither of the others said anything. Carlos mostly ignored this, and went back to his work. At the moment, it involved a rather long equation, and he was itching to be done with it.
"I'm sorry," Shane finally said, "You called that a librarian?"
"Yep," Carlos confirmed, resolutely not looking up, "Watch out for those."
Ryan sputtered a bit. "What?" He finally managed.
With a sigh, Carlos looked up at them. "What you encountered was a Librarian. They're dangerous creatures who live in libraries. It's just...one of those things here in Night Vale, I guess." He hesitated, searching for some kind of better explanation, but found nothing more. He went back to the equation.
Shane leaned back, and Ryan slumped a little. It wasn't so much relaxing as giving up on an explanation of any kind.
And so Carlos returned finally to his work, but something kept nagging at him. He tried to fight it, but eventually he gave in. With a final moment of hesitation, he put his paper and pen (which were, of course, illegal in Night Vale) in a drawer. He looked back up at his guests.
"So what happened?"
Shane and Ryan looked at each other. A silent conversation seemed to take place in that brief second. After a moment, Shane nodded and Ryan put his head back down.
"Do you have a glass of water?" Shane asked. "This might take a while."