Chapter Six part 2

Sam gasped.

“What do you mean?” Andrew demanded.

The man did not whisper, but he did not speak loudly, either.

“I know who you two are. No, don’t look at me like that – I recognised your faces from the news on the BBC yesterday. I know that you, Andrew, were the first to return and that you, Sam, were the second.

There is a reason you came back. You are most likely not aware of it so I will fill you in on it later. For now, it’s more important for you to remember one thing:

They know you are back. They sent you away once, and they will not hesitate to remove you again if it will help their cause.”

“Who are ‘they’?” Andrew interjected.

“You’ll find out in due course. I only hope we have enough time.” He looked at his watch nervously.

“I don’t understand.” Sam said, a puzzled expression on her face. “Are you saying there’s more than one person behind this?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Can you prove this?” Andrew asked. “If you can, it would be very important for the police to hear about it.”

The man’s eyes bulged and widened wildly. He gripped the front of Andrew’s shirt.

“But don’t you see?” He spoke maniacally, feverishly. “They know. They know everything – I’ve reported it multiple times, and they say that they’ll look into it, but nothing ever comes of it! Something is stopping them from listening to me, or worse, they’re corrupt to the very core. Imagine that for a second – a world where the only ones who can enforce the laws, the authorities, are just as evil as the other thieves, and murderers, and vandals. That is what is happening here in this city, and we are powerless to stop it!”

The door swung open and the blond haired man from earlier stepped inside. The man rapidly released Andrew, breathing heavily.

“Getting a little excited, are we, Derek?” The words flowed from him lazily.

“N – no, no.” The suited man stuttered. “Just… talking, that’s all.”

The man was no longer holding the clipboard. He smiled, showing his teeth. It was terrifying.

“Good. Now, run along, children. This man and I have some… talking of our own to do.” He was very relaxed, but the man he called Derek was anything but.

“Yes – if you two would like to wait outside, I – I’m sure we can finish talking afterwards – “

The other man smoothly cut him off, forcing him back into his chair once more. Turning to Andrew and Sam, he spoke in his silken snake’s voice.

“I do believe it’s time you were leaving. It’s getting darker outside, and we wouldn’t want anything… unfortunate to happen to you now, would we?”

He grinned at them as they left, and he closed the door behind them. They heard the scraping of a key in the lock, and several bolts being drawn.

Andrew turned to leave, but Sam grabbed his arm. She whispered into his ear, being careful that nobody else in the library could hear. Given how silent it still was, she wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Let’s listen in.” She suggested. “It might give us a clue to what’s going on here. I don’t know about you, but I for one am starting to feel more than a little freaked out by all this.”

They pressed their ears to the door, listening.

First, they heard the blond librarian speaking.

“Come now, did you really think I’d let you spoil it so early on? I never thought you were the type to cheat at games.”

His voice was mock-disappointed, with a strong note of humour.

“Is this all it is to you? A game? I didn’t think He went in for that kind of thing.” The suited librarian was speaking, his voice bitter.

“Oh, no.” They could hear the lazy drawl of the other. “He doesn’t, but He allows the most trusted of His own to do as they please. I do so enjoy you people, but I’m afraid that playtime’s over now. Can’t have you ruin all the fun so early.”

A few moments later, the door opened unexpectedly and the blond haired librarian came strolling out lightly. He caught sight of the two teenagers and, to their surprise, laughed.

“Well, well, if it isn’t you still. I’m going to have fun with this. Now – time for you two to get home. We can’t have you getting injured, and I hear the roads at this time of night are rather treacherous. Run along now!”

It was such a sudden change, from sly and deceptive to jovial, that Andrew was instantly suspicious. Combined with what they had heard, he was more than a little suspicious.

Grabbing Sam, he moved towards the doors at a jog. He did not want to spend another moment in there.