Chapter 5

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly, falalalala lalalala. ‘Tis the season to be merry, falalalala lalalala,” Alex sang while he tromped through the snow that was starting to pile up. Man, you know you’re really bored when you’ve been reduced to singing Christmas carols. At least I’m not out of season, he justified. The silence of the town no longer badly bothered him even though he had to look over his shoulder from time to time so he was fairly comfortable hearing his own singing and singing echo. He hadn’t quite realized how far away the public library was, if he was going the right way, and was almost convinced he was lost. You would think they might have signs or something that pointed in the right direction, the teenager complained besides the fact that he knew Oakfield wasn’t large enough for that kind of treatment. “Don we now, our gay apparel, falalalala lalalala,” he continued, “Troll the ancient yuletide carol, falalalala lalalala.”

So, how long are you going to keep this way? the inner voice asked. He seemed bored as well.

“I don’t know. Until I hit a place that I recognize, reach the library, or find myself outside of Oakfield,” he answered nonchalantly. Despite the crazy things happening, he felt relatively happy and carefree. If this is what it was like to be in shock, he hoped he would stay in shock until this weirdness was over.

For all you know, this could last until you die, Mr. Voice stated and practically threw Alex’s good mood out the window.

Thanks, he groaned sarcastically, Though, if there are monsters running around, dying might come a little quicker than I would like. Luckily, he hadn’t seen anything else on his travel since the reporter, Cassandra. [/i]Maybe the monsters are more attracted to women or something, he thought, Though, if that’s the case... crap.[/i] He regretted thinking that. Because if that was the case, then the woman who had been giving him headaches would be in serious trouble. The 19-year-old rubbed his head, not from pain but just because thinking about all this strangeness was extremely confusing. He needed to find the library fast. Even if he didn’t find anyone, going there would at least put his mind to rest. He came to another intersection and looked at the street sign. Currently, he was still on Nixon Street while the intersecting street was Kellogg. Kellogg, Kellogg, he strained his memory, Okay, I think the library’s on... Mathis Avenue. That’s... two blocks on Kellogg? He could barely remember but it sounded right. Thus, he turned... which way did he go on Kellogg? Alex let out an aggravated sigh and lightly knocked his head on the street sign pole.

Finally, he gave up trying to figure out which way was correct and went left. Left was a good direction to go. He brushed some snow out of his hair and moved his bangs out of his eyes. They fell right back. The teenager then jabbed his gloved hands into his coat pockets. It felt like the temperature was dropping which wasn’t the least bit surprising. Night usually came about five o’clock in December. It was probably around three o’clock at the moment. If I don’t figure this out soon, I’ll be wandering around this place in the dark which is exactly what I would rather not do. He started power-walking down the sidewalk and scanning the buildings for any sign of a library even though he wasn’t on the right street. Thankfully, his guess in direction had be right on as he came across the intersection of Kellogg and Mathis. He hopped from one foot to the other for a few seconds, once again try to figure out which direction to take, and decided on the right path this time.

As he continued walking, he started humming ‘Silent Night’ until he realized that he really didn’t like the lyrics that went with it. Silent Night was a little too close to the situation so he started humming ‘Joy to the World.’

I think you’ve gone the wrong way, the inner voice pointed out after a four block travel, I don’t believe the library was this far on Mathis.

Alex sighed, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the wrong direction. I could only remember that it was on Mathis.” He turned around and almost took a step when he looked back over his shoulder. What if the library was only a block down? The teenager would end up going the wrong way and losing more time. But, if he kept going this way and it was wrong, he would lose just as much time if not more. He groaned.

Trust your inner voice. It knows the waaaay, the second voice said with the tone of one of those fake fortune-tellers that wanted to sell people so they made their voice mysterious and mystic sounding. Alex chuckled and walked back the direction he had come. The inner voice had seemed to be correct about everything so far. The 19-year-old followed his lonely footprints back to the intersection and made news ones in the opposite direction. Thinking about his tracks, he realized that, once the snow had covered them up, it would be like no one was ever here in the first place. Like he had never even existed. The image sobered up his mild good mood.

Being so serious all the time gets depressing, he decided. It went against his devil-may-care attitude. Though, one sight did relieve that serious mood almost to the point of pure elation. He had traveled three blocks in the opposite direction to come across North Oakfield Library. Oh, thank you God, he said and ran to the front of the library. Unlike all the other buildings he had passed by, this one actually had lights. Working lights that shined with a warm, white brightness akin to being lost in the dark wilderness and then seeing a light that belonged to a flashlight wielded by your parents. He pushed on the door’s lever and walked inside as the door opened without the slightest resistance. The North Oakfield Library was a modern building having only been built in the 80s. Florescent bulbs provide the heaven-like light to the library while neatly kept shelves held books of all varieties. Near the entrance was the checkout desk where several computers sat, all off. The carpet felt wonderful under his feet even though he could barely feel through his shoes. There is no way anything bad could be lurking in this place, he stated. The building was too warm and comforting for that, unlike the school.

Although, there was one thing missing. Another person. That woman, to be precise. He had been so happy to find a normal and inviting place in this cold desolate town that he hadn’t realized the silence the pervaded Oakfield had also crept in here. He almost wondered if, by opening the door, he had let the quietness in. Alex walked deeper into the library and into the sea of books. His shoes made almost no sound, whatever waves produced were captured by the carpet. It kind of made him think of those wold librarians, the elderly woman with skirts and giant glasses, that always yelled, “Quiet! This is a library!” The image brought a brief smile to his lips. The teenager slink through the rows a bit more, working his way to the back of the building. He was almost sure that there wasn’t anybody here, which was somewhat a relief as well, when he spied an open door. “Hello?” he called out. A startled squeak was the reply. Oops, he thought, I think I just made whoever is here wet themselves. He trotted up to the open to find a backroom where book copies are kept and another open door. This one led to a break room completely with a couch and coffee maker. The scene made him think of the little old lady librarians again. However, it wasn’t a cranky old lady waiting for him.

She was probably his age or a little older. He attire consisted of blue jeans and a heavy, white sweatshirt with a red collar the had poinsettias decorated on it. Actually, on closer inspection, the red collar belonged to another sweater under the white one. She had a pair of brown boots on her petite feet. The back of her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail so that some of it was allowed to flow freely while the rest of it was put in its proper place. Her face was slender with everything in small proportions. But her blue eyes were by far her most striking feature. They were a solid shade of dark blue that Alex had never seen but found beautiful. At the moment, they were filled with a multitude of emotions, the most predominate being fear, shock, and relief. Alex walked into the room and offered his hand for she was sitting on the floor having most likely stumbled when he had called out. “Sorry I scared you,” he apologized.

At first, she looked at his hand as though it might come lose and bite her. But then she suddenly leaped up and wrapped her arms around Alex in a big hug. “Oh, thank goodness,” she cried, her voice melodic and fitting to her delicacy, “Another person. I just knew another person would come sooner or later.” She pulled back and then gave him a questioning look. Mainly because of the look plastered on his face. “What?” the lady asked.

The teenager blinked, “Ah, nothing. Just a little surprised at the gratitude.” He was lying. It hadn’t hit when he first saw her but her voice had given it away. It’s her... was the only thought circling around in his head. The woman who’s voice he had heard in his dreams. His dream girl. He held back a laugh. The thought of a dream girl seemed wholly out of place in this scene since that usually carried romantic connotations. He held out his hand, this time as greeting, “I’m Alex Beelz.”

She took his hand and shook firmly, “Ivy Wethers. Nice to meet you. Especially now. Are there other people with you?” Ivy glanced past him with a hopeful expression on her face.

“Er, no, sorry,” he grimaced, hating to dash her hope, “I’m the only person here besides you.”

Fear returned to Ivy’s blue eyes, “Only person. You, you mean there isn’t anyone else besides us?”

Alex nodded, “Well, I did meet one other lady, a reporter. But other than her it’s just us.”

Ivy paced to the back of the room, “But... where did everyone go? People, a whole town’s population, just doesn’t disappear in a flash. It’s, it’s impossible,” she turned back to look at him, “Are you sure it’s just the three of us?” Alex nodded and her posture drooped, making her look smaller than she was already. The woman couldn’t have been more the 5 foot, 4 inches. “It’s impossible,” she repeated in a whisper.

The 19-year-old walked over and put an arm around her. “Hey, it’ll be alright,” he cooed, “You’re right, people can’t just vanish. There are probably others waiting somewhere just like you were waiting in here in the library.” She clung to him and didn’t say anything for awhile. He hadn’t really thought about it deeply but, once he considered that they were, so far, the only people in a city that had a population of a little over 10,000, it had a much larger impact. And we don’t even know what to do other than sit around and twiddle our thumbs, he realized. The only reasons he had been traveling around was because of his dreams and the fact that simply sitting around would have drove him nuts. But now what? He hadn’t had revelation lately and he doubted Ivy wouldn’t question his sanity when he suggested to go somewhere because a little voice in his head told him so. In fact, it was sounding highly crazy to him, too.

You wouldn’t have met Ivy if you hadn’t listened the little voice, that inner one stated. Of course, it was right but the prospect of taking its advice still sounded completely nuts.

Oh well, maybe the fact that I recognize that it sounds crazy means I’m not crazy myself, he decided and then decided that sounded like a lame excuse.

“Alex?” Ivy asked in a shaky but more in control voice, “What are we doing to do?” She let go of him and backed up.

He shrugged, “Beats me. Though, it probably wouldn’t do us any good to just sit here and wait for others. Like I said, I’ve walked around some of Oakfield and have only met one person.”

“Oh yeah, a reporter. Who was it?” she cocked her head to the side. The position made her look very cute.

“Cassandra Newwells,” he replied. The teenager doubted he would be able to forget her name. He didn’t trust the reporter one bit.

“‘Cassandra Newwells’?!” the dream girl repeated, her right eyebrow arching up, “Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me that she’s here.” With a disgusted look on her face, Alex surmised that his opinion of the reporter wasn’t unique.

“Who is she?”

Ivy sighed, “Well, she’s the gossip columnist at the Oakfield Sunrise, the daily paper. She has a bad reputation of getting her information right.”

“Getting information right is a bad thing?” he asked unbelievably. Boy, was he out of touch with the media.

“No,” she shook her head,”It’s the way she gets her information. She usually bribes and blackmails people. Not to mention she always seems to have at least one tragedy a week in her column. And those are usually very private. I’ve heard she’s been sued a few times. At least, taken to court over it. Last I heard she was still working for the paper, which seems like a crime itself, but that was two years ago.”

The blond-haired male crossed his arms, “I just that would explain why she didn’t look the least bit trustworthy. And how she knew that.”

“Knew what? Does she know what’s going on?” Wethers questioned and walked up to Alex with a suspicious look in her beautiful blue eyes.

“Well, she said she didn’t know what was going but I don’t believe her. She definitely acted like she knew more. Anyway, Cassandra said something about people disappearing in Oakfield before. Sixty years ago. I think she thinks that this situation and that one sixty years ago are related,” he told her.

Ivy rolled the new information around in her head a little bit, her hand resting on her chin, “You know what. I think we should try and find Cassandra and figure out what she knows.” The woman glanced at him with a newfound glint of determination. “If she knows what’s going on, than maybe we and can figure out a way to... fix all this.” She spread her arms wide for emphasis.

Alex agreed, “Sounds like a plan.” Much better than the ones I’ve come up with, he mulled, Following dreams around on wild goose chases.

But those weren’t wild goose chases, his inner voice reminded, You actually did find something. First the monsters and now Ivy. You weren’t just stumbling around blindly. Even though it was right, again, he tried to ignore the voice. He didn’t have to listen to it or dreams anymore. Now there was something tangible he was going to run after. And somebody to run after it with.

Ivy had ambled over to the door and made a little bow with her arms pointing out into the main part of the library, “Shall we?”

Alex chuckled at her lightheartedness, “Ladies first.”

~

Word Count - 2643

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