People Of The Book

a Short Story

Something was to happen that night. Something bad, more specifically. If you were to ask what it was, what could possibly occur on that quiet night, you’d get no answer.

        There was one person who knew things would take a turn, but she didn’t know how. Here’s what she did know: it would occur during the first snow, it would happen at night, and it would take place on a small campus. She was told just enough to stop it. That was all she was ever told.

…

        Two students were crossing from one side of this campus to the other. Their friend, Ella, had called to ask for a late-night snack. So the two had thrown on coats, hats, and gloves, and gone off.

        “God, it’s hard to see with all the snow at night,” Grey said. Their short, brown hair was already covered in white.

        “Here,” Ember said, turning her flashlight on. “That’s…a little better.”

        “Barely,” Grey scoffed. “I’m just glad I know this campus well enough to get around in the dark.”

        They began moving forward, feet sinking in the snow. Every now and then, a tree would become fully visible under a streetlight. Most of the trail, however, was obscured. Ember could just barely see the outline of trees. With this and the cold, Ember didn’t focus much on anything around her. She just focused on walking.

        “Cold?” Grey asked her.

        “Yeah, a little. It’s snowing. Of course, I’m cold.”

        Grey laughed, “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point. I’m excited it’s finally snowing, though.”

        “Finally?” She asked. “It’s still November.”

        “You’re just used to the weather where you grew up.”

        “It’s not that different, trust me. It’s just…colder longer.”

        “Exactly my point,” Grey said.

        Ember chucked a snowball at them in response. As Grey began to make their own, Ember noticed something. A light came on in the distance. She wasn’t quite sure what had happened at first, but after a minute she realized.

Something had…disappeared. One minute, an animal was there in the distance, standing between the trees. Then it was gone. It hadn’t run away, nothing had come in front of it, it simply vanished.

        She turned around. Grey was looking in the same spot. Neither had to say a word. It was clear both of them had seen it.

…

        Maybe it was harmless. Maybe not…she — the only person who knew something was to happen —  didn’t really wish to take chances. Still, she didn’t like having to do this. Person, animal, or otherwise, it all went the same.

 Take tonight; after having done volunteer work for the school, she had begun her search as it got dark. Taking on a new job or task was always the first step. Usually, she started as close to it as she could. Then came the time to look. Though she didn’t know exactly what she would see, she knew what to look for.

        Anything out of the ordinary was worth investigating. Levitation, things coming alive that shouldn’t, voices coming from nowhere…these were the sorts of things she had to find. Tonight she almost walked into it. It was hard to see before something lit up, illuminating it for her.

        This was the worst part. It was impossible not to stare at the face — or faces — before completing her work. They always seemed afraid. Maybe she was just projecting. It was hard to say.

        Eventually, like always, she closed her eyes, said the words, and there was no longer a face.

With it gone, she could now see the light was coming from one of the dorms. Specifically, the dorm itself was glowing.

She wasn’t done.

…

Ember and Grey just stood there at first. How were they meant to react? Ember wanted to talk it out, to find a way to explain what they’d seen, but she couldn’t. It didn’t seem Grey could either. Eventually, there was nothing to do but keep going. In a few minutes, they reached the dorms on the west side of campus. Deer walked out behind the dorms, watching as they approached.

Ember froze as something growled in the distance. It sounded close, but there was nothing there.

“What the hell was that?” Gray looked out, trying to spot something. Anything.

The deer turned as they spoke. That low growl sounded again. Ember and Grey moved toward the dorm. The deer moved toward them…except they weren’t deer.

Sure, they had a similar shape. They had antlers…but that was where it ended. Their fur was rough and matted. Each had a face that seemed to belong to a different animal — a wolf, a wildcat, a fox. Some had hooves. Many had claws.

One turned to meet Ember’s eyes. It stared straight on — unlike a true deer, its eyes weren’t on the sides of its face. They were on the front of the face, like the eyes of any animal that hunts.

She tried to step back, but the creature lurched forward. She fell to the cold ground, just avoiding the attack. Grey tried to reach the door, swerving by the other creatures. They grunted as one tried to pin them down, sinking its claws into Grey’s skin. They moved away in time, but couldn’t avoid getting scratched. Grey pulled Ember up with their other arm and tried to pull them both forward.

Though awkwardly, they were able to make progress. The door was only a few steps away. Ember groaned as she felt a sharp pain in her leg. She looked down. One of the creatures had bitten her, clenching down. She swung her leg forward, surprising it enough to get free. Finally, she opened the door and went through. Grey closed the door, those things still staring through the window.

“What…was that?” Ember was out of breath.

“I…” Gray trailed off.

Someone was screaming down the hall. The room seemed to light up as they crossed the hallway, as if the dorm itself was glowing.

Ella was at the end of the hall, standing across from a boy who lived in the dorm. Ember didn’t know him personally, but she had seen him there before.

 The light grew stronger, obscuring their view. The boy crouched down awkwardly, almost as if he were being forced. His hands curled. His body stretched. Somehow, his face began to distort and change shape as something grew from his head. The room grew brighter again. Ember closed her eyes. It was painfully bright.

Finally, it stopped. Ember opened her eyes. The boy was gone, but standing in that same spot was one of the creatures from outside. Ember watched as he turned to the back door, shoved it open with his head, and left. Ella sat, sobbing.

“Ella?”

She looked up as Grey walked over, Ember following behind.

“I don’t know what’s happening. I’m sorry.” She didn't look up.

“It’s ok,” Ember said. “We just…”

“God. I don’t…you might want to go back. I don’t know, I don’t know how many times — ”

“Is this why you called?”Grey asked. Their voice was soft.

“No. I started…people started changing into those things…it happened after that. I don’t know how long it’s been,” she answered.

“What is all this?” Ember asked. “The monsters, the spell…”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” Ella sighed.  “It’s not like I’ve been hiding powers from you guys. I didn’t even think any of this was real. I’m still not sure it is.”

At that, the room began to glow again, and Ember suddenly felt some sort of pressure. It was as if something was pushing her down, keeping her there. She tensed, feeling herself stretching forward. It was straining, but she found she couldn’t stop.

“No…” Ember could hear Ella in the background.

I should move, she thought. But why? To escape. But from what, exactly? She…she couldn’t think.

Someone walked in through the door behind her. She couldn’t turn around to see who.

But of course, it was once again the only one who knew what was happening.

…

There it was, the source of the strangeness. This last bit was all she had to take away. Then, it would be over for the year.

This girl, whether intentionally or not, had created quite a few of those monsters. It had taken a while to find each one, but soon there would be no more. She had guessed the dorm was part of it. A dorm member made sense, as these often involved some sort of witch. Occasionally, you’d find one aware of this time of year. Some would wait, studying for the right moment. (Most found they were unprepared, even if they knew all they could).

Quite honestly, she preferred that version. When they didn’t understand, they were scared. She hated to do this when they were scared.

Still, so was the person she was transforming. If she wanted to prevent more of that, it had to be done. She sighed, opening her book.

“What’s going on?”

She turned. A third person stood behind her. She hadn’t noticed them.

She didn’t answer, instead writing:

And so the witch turned one last person into her monster. Why, you may ask, had this time been different? The answer is simple, she was caught. Most say she ran away after this, realizing she couldn’t simply get away with her recklessness. No one saw the witch or her monsters again, but everything knew her story.

The end.

She closed the book with those two words, sealing the spell. She watched as the witch and the cursed girl vanished.

“What did you do?”

She turned. She had forgotten there was someone else aside from the witch and her victim. Of course, there could be no one to watch, so she opened the book again. They grabbed the book from her, nearly tearing out a page.

“No,” they said. “I’m not letting you do that.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry. I have to.”

“Why? Why is any of this —”

She sighed. It was unusual for someone else to see the event. “Something like this happens once every year. Magic, ghosts…none of that is made up. I just put them into stories so they usually aren’t around.”

They let out a breath, shaking their head, “I don’t…” 

She handed them the book, “You’re gonna recognize a lot of these stories. Myths don’t come out of thin air. It’s just safer to keep them as myths.”

They skimmed the pages, seeing the familiar “stories”. Finally, they closed it, seeing the front cover. Inked on the leather cover were the words, “The Storykeeper’s Journal.”

“So that’s it? My friends are just…gone now?”

“I’m sorry,” The Storykeeper said. “It had to be done. There’s no way to reverse it anyway.”

        They said nothing. She almost felt bad, though she knew it would all be forgotten. Changing something to a myth removes people from the world. By morning, it would be as if none of them were ever there. She stood, waiting for the book to be handed back.

        “What makes you think this is any better than what was happening before?” They asked, the book held firmly in their hands.

        “Because,” she said. “If I didn’t do anything your friend would keep transforming people. Those things would just be walking around. Less people get hurt this way.”

        “Not if you keep doing this to people every year.”

        She sighed, reaching down for the book. They tried to pull it back, but she managed to get it. She retrieved her pen, preparing the spell. She crossed out parts of what she’d written before, allowing the story to change.

        Most say she, the monsters, and her last friend ran —

        Her hand had been grabbed before she could finish. A line ran through the page. This was fine, she could still finish.

        Most say she, the monsters, and her last friend ran away —

        They tried once again to grab the book. Her chest tightened at the sound of tearing. She yanked it back. She had to finish…

        Most say she, the monsters, and her last friend ran away after this…

…

        Ember looked up at Grey, wondering how they had moved around the room so fast. In their hands was some sort of book, which seemed to vanish quickly.

        “Grey?”

        They let out a deep breath, pulling Ember in for a hug. “You’re back.”

        “What happened?” Ella walked over to them, also getting a hug from Grey.

        Grey sighed, launching into the story of the book.

        “...But I wondered what would happen if I wrote a myth about her. I thought maybe it would make none of this real. And I guess it did.” They laughed. “Even the book is gone now. Myths being real…that’s just a myth itself now.”

        The three stood, tired, but happy to be together. Happy that it was all resolved now.

In the years to follow, they would tell this story to people often. No one believed them, and they didn’t expect anyone to. After all, the supernatural truly was false after that night. It was an interesting story for others, and a memory only a handful of people shared. In a way, it was their personal myth.

The End