by Leela Ash
She sighed and pushed him to the back of her mind. She had taken the new job to forget Ross and move on with her life. She was determined she wouldn’t be defined by a failed relationship and that she would thrive by finding new interests and a new career. She looked up and around her. The main hall really was an amazing sight. Its ceilings seemed as tall as the sky and the dark wood was so brooding and atmospheric it made her shiver. She had never really thought before about why the library had been given its name, but now she could see as she sat there that it had been decorated many years ago all around the edges of the ceiling in gold leaf in the shape of roses. She smiled as she thought about the artist deciding to do this and how he or she would have made it up so high to complete the intricate paintings.
“Must have taken them a long time,” said a voice from behind her. She turned around to see a girl about her age standing there with a large stack of books in her arms.
“That’s exactly what I was just thinking,” Zoe smiled.
The girl climbed up into the desk area and thumped the books down next to her.
“I’m Rebecca,” she smiled as she held out her hand.
“Zoe.”
“It’s nice to have someone else working here who isn’t as ancient as the library,” she laughed.
Zoe giggled too and nodded. “I can imagine it gets a little boring in here at times with no one to talk to.”
“Yep,” Rebecca sat down next to her and pulled the manual across the desk. “And I wouldn’t even bother reading this. They make everyone do it on their first day, but it has literally no relevance.”
“Thank God, I was starting to fall asleep,” Zoe fake yawned.
“So, Westy sent me down here to show you the ropes,” Rebecca smiled as she swiveled around on her chair. “What made you want to come and work in this place, anyway?”
“I just thought it would be an interesting change,” Zoe shrugged.
“We get a load of geeks wanting to work here,” she laughed. “I’m glad they seemed to hire someone normal.”
“Thanks,” she blushed, unsure of whether it was a compliment or not.
“Okay,” Rebecca grinned. “So, I guess we should start with the basics, but it’s all pretty straightforward…” She got to her feet and acted as if she was on stage in front of a large audience, and as she spoke her voice echoed around the empty room. “We are the faces of the lovely Gold Rose,” she took a bow and continued. “We are here to serve and educate the masses with the wealth of knowledge we have at our fingertips.”
Zoe started laughing. Rebecca was certainly funny.
“Okay, too over the top,” she laughed and sat down. “Basically, we’re information assistants. If anyone can’t find a book, we show them where it is, look it up on our database if necessary, check no one has already borrowed it and it’s still in the building so-to-speak, and then reshelf any books that have been returned…which sounds pretty easy, but it’s actually a lot of work…or hopefully not now you’re here, because I was doing it myself!” She stopped and sucked in a big chest full of air. “You literally have no idea how happy I am to have you here!”
Rebecca’s enthusiasm and sense of humor was infectious, and Zoe knew she was going to have a lot of fun working with her.
“Well, believe it or not, I’m really glad to be here, too,” she smiled. “It feels really good to have a fresh start…and just look at this place. It’s so beautiful!”
“Oh, I know,” Rebecca said as she turned and looked around at the huge hall they were standing in. “I suppose I’ve been here so long now, I take it for granted.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get bored at looking around it,” Zoe beamed. “It’s just so full of history.”
“That sounds a bit geeky,” Rebecca said. “Alert! Alert!”
“Haha, okay, sorry,” Zoe said as she looked down at the floor. “I promise I’m not a geek… Don’t worry.”
“Good,” Rebecca said as she swept the books back up into her arms. “Well, come on then, we better get going. We have lots to do this morning.”
“Okay,” Zoe jumped down from her chair and held her hands up. “What should I bring?”
“Just yourself for now,” Rebecca said ominously. “You’ll be helping me with the stack of books from hell any second.”
“Oh great,” Zoe said as she followed Rebecca out of the information point and down one of the long corridors of books. As they made their way further into the maze of the library, Zoe knew she had definitely made the right decision. She was going to love working there, she could feel it.
3.
The girls spent the rest of the morning on their hands and knees at the very back of the main hall, sifting through returned books and checking the library map for where each pile they were making should go on its designated shelf. The doors opened as planned at 10:30 and although the first hour was very quiet with barely anyone coming in, as it approached lunch time there seemed to be a few groups of tourists and the odd actual visitor looking for something in particular.
Zoe made her way back to the information point as Rebecca shelved some of the returned books. She climbed into her big leather chair and began to read the manual as she tried to get to grips with the database. She was glad that she hadn’t been approached by anyone and asked for help yet as she still didn’t have a clue how anything worked. Rebecca had been a good trainer, but she was so funny the girls had spent most of their time messing around and cracking jokes.
She looked up at the gold leaf roses all along the ceiling and wondered to herself how much all of the artwork in the library must be worth. She watched the tourists wandering around, snapping photographs and picking up the odd old book to show to one another. She remembered how she and Ross had once visited a bookstore downtown and he bought her a copy of Wuthering Heights. She closed her eyes and sighed.
Don’t do this to yourself, she thought. You’re having fun… Don’t make it all about him…
She blinked back the tears just in time before Rebecca came bouncing around the corner with two mugs of coffee.
“Right,” she said. “We’ll have lunch up here today,” she placed the cups down and clapped her hands together. “Normally we get half an hour, but I guess you probably have tons of questions, and to be honest, I can’t be bothered going out for a walk… Plus, we have to go down into the archive in about an hour.” She rolled her eyes and pretended to put a finger down her throat.
“The archive?” Zoe asked.
“Yeah,” Rebecca said as she sat down and blew on lightly on the top of her coffee. “We have a selection of rooms that are technically underground here… And they’re called the archives… I hate going down there, they give me the creeps.”
“That sounds awesome!” Zoe said a little too enthusiastically.
“Well, you won’t think that when you’re covered in dust and spider webs and freezing cold while trying to take an inventory to make sure nothing has gone missing,” she laughed.
“Missing?” Zoe was suddenly very intrigued. “Why would anything go missing?”
“Look at this place,” Rebecca whispered. “Some of the books in here alone are worth fortunes… Never mind the sculptures and artwork.” She leaned in closer and raised her eyebrows. “And that’s the stuff they have on display… Imagine the things they don’t want people to see.”
“Seriously?” The hairs on Zoe’s arm stood up on end.
Rebecca nodded and sipped her drink. “They made you sign that secrecy act thing didn’t they?” She spun on her chair.
“Yes, but they said that was because this was a heritage site…”
Rebecca raised her eyebrows again.
“It’s because you might see things the rest of the world doesn’t know about.”
Zoe sat back in her chair and cradled her cup of coffee in her hands. She couldn’t tell if Rebecca was messing with her or whether she was being deadly serious. In any event, she couldn’t wait to get down to the archi
ves and see what they were all about.
“So when are we going down?” she asked, pretending not to be too interested.
“After lunch,” Rebecca opened one of the desk draws and pulled out two packets of chips. “Not exactly a five-course meal, but it should hit the spot,” she shrugged.
Zoe wasn’t even hungry, but she accepted them with a smile.
The next hour seemed to drag painfully along as her mind raced with what she might see down in the archives. It was the sort of thing she had seen in movies or read about in books, but when she had applied for and taken the job, it had never even crossed her mind that there may be secret rooms or even secrets of history hidden within the library walls.
Rebecca didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, but it was exciting Zoe beyond belief. She thought back to her interview and of how Mrs. West had handed her the secrecy form. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time, maybe because she was used to dealing with confidential information at the law firm, but now it was taking on a whole other meaning.
“Right then,” Rebecca closed her laptop and got to her feet. “Should we head down there and get it over with?”
Zoe was on her feet before Rebecca had even finished her sentence.
“Yes,” she said. “Show me the way.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes and began her walk down the long center section of the main hall towards the back.
At the end of the hall, there was a set of doors and when Rebecca opened them they led out into a long hallway. It was colder out there and the lights were dim. Zoe immediately felt herself shiver and pulled the scarf tighter around her neck.
“It’s right down at this end.” Rebecca looked at her over her shoulder and walked down into the darkness. The further they went, the more the light seemed to disappear, and it looked like this part of the library was largely neglected.
“No one comes down here,” Rebecca said. “It’s just a place for the janitor to dump all of the broken chairs.”
Zoe looked around the hallway and realized in the darkened corners were crumpled and broken bits of wood. It was a mess—a dusty, forgotten mess, and Zoe felt sad that parts of such a beautiful building were being left to rot.
Rebecca stopped at a door at the end of the hall.
“Here we are,” she said as she turned and looked back at Zoe. “Are you ready?”
Zoe nodded and held her breath. Rebecca smiled and pushed the door. It creaked open…
4.
Rebecca stepped forward first, entering the dark room and groping around on the wall for a light switch. Z0e hung back with bated breath. She didn’t know what to expect and her skin was tingling all over.
When Rebecca found the light and turned it on with a flick, the room was illuminated with a harsh fluorescent glow. It looked like any old room, one that was neglected and filled with junk, but there was nothing remotely exciting or special about it. Zoe’s heart sank. It looked just like any old crumby janitor’s room, full of mops, buckets and forgotten furniture.
“Is this it?” she asked with a scowl.
Rebecca burst out laughing and shook her head.
“Of course not,” she laughed as she slapped Zoe playfully on the arm. “Do you really think anything of value would be kept in this crappy room!?”
Zoe felt heat creep over her cheeks.
“Here, come on,” Rebecca said as she grabbed her lightly by the arm and pulled her to the back of the room.
What looked like a closet door, partially hidden by a stack of dusty chairs, was the entrance to the archives. Rebecca pulled the chairs away, and they screeched along the floor. Zoe covered her ears and winced. When Rebecca stood back and pulled a flashlight out of her back pocket, she flipped on the light and reached into her other pocket and pulled out a key.
“Barely anyone even knows that this doorway exists,” she said. “It’s a good thing, of course. Stops us having to worry about thieves.”
“Doesn’t that feel like a lot of responsibility?” Zoe asked. “I mean, having a key to it?”
“No,” Rebecca shook her head. “I’m used to it, I guess.”
She shrugged and then turned away from Zoe as she unlocked the door and heaved it slowly open. The icy air that sprang from the doorway hit Zoe in an instant and she shivered. The air was clear and crisp and it rolled out of the opening and into the room around them. Rebecca shone the light into the closet and there, in front of them, disappearing into the ground and darkness, was a big, stone staircase.
“Wow,” Zoe whispered as she stepped forward and followed the torchlight down into the ground.
“I know,” Rebecca smiled. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“Very cool,” Zoe nodded.
“Well, you’re about to see why it gives me the creeps.” Rebecca made the first move and stepped down onto the staircase. “Come on.”
As they girls made their way down into the cold, damp secret rooms beneath the library, Zoe felt a wave of panic wash over her. She had always been claustrophobic, but this was taking it to a whole other level! She gripped the walls as she took each step further into the darkness below and bits of stone crumbled away in her hands.
“Be careful,” Rebecca whispered. “This place is falling apart, it’s so ancient.”
Zoe swallowed hard and tried to keep her mind focused on getting to the bottom of the staircase. She followed the light from Rebecca’s flashlight and took baby steps to ensure she didn’t stumble or fall. When Rebecca reached the last step, she helped Zoe down too and then shone the light out behind them into the vast room that had opened up before them.
“Oh my God,” Zoe gasped. “I can’t believe this, it’s insane.”
Rebecca smiled and followed Zoe’s gaze… The earth seemed to have opened up and exposed a secret structure of rooms and tunnels. The gold leaf from the main hall ran along the walls there, too, and each corner was filled with ancient sculptures and pieces of artwork.
“What is this place?” she asked as she turned to Rebecca. “Surely this can’t all be property of the city?” She was skeptical because most of it looked far too old to have been part of the library’s inventory.
“Now that I don’t know,” Rebecca said. “Rule number one, don’t ask questions… All I know is it’s in our care and we have to make sure none of it goes missing.”
She shone the flashlight light around and went off looking for something. Zoe watched her from the other side of the room and tried to make sense of everything that was around her. It was so dark and cold and everything down there looked like buried treasure. The archives were magical and so secretive Zoe felt like she had been let in on something very special.
“Okay,” Rebecca said as she came back with another flashlight. “This is for you.” She passed it to Zoe and turned it on.
Zoe was still in awe, she couldn’t stop looking around at where she was. It was like she had stepped into another world.
“Okay,” Rebecca smiled. “Knock yourself out, I’m going to head back upstairs to the closet and get the list, okay?”
“Okay,” Zoe answered, but she was barely listening. She was aware of Rebecca’s footsteps getting quieter, and she realized she was alone when she heard them above her in the janitor’s room. She shone the flashlight around her and moved into one of the corners. There was so much to see, she almost didn’t know where to begin. But it was a shock to her when she felt pulled into a certain direction as if a force from another world had reached into her mind and led her there. She followed it and settled on what could have easily just been another section of wall, but she could see that there was something different… It looked like some kind of small door…
She stood and looked at the outline of the door. It seemed to have a light shining behind it, and she turned to see if she could call to Rebecca to ask her what it was.
“Rebecca?” she said into the darkness, but she could still hear her upstairs. Zoe was too far underground for the sound to travel.
She turned back and looked at the small doorway again. It was so strange that it should be there, so hidden and enclosed, and also she was sure it hadn’t been there when she and Rebecca had first stepped into the archives.
She bit her bottom lip and tried to pull herself away.
“Don’t open it,” she said aloud to herself as she found her hand reaching out with curiosity. “Anything could be in there.”
But even as she said the words, she knew exactly what she was going to do… She bent slightly and wrapped her fingers around the tiny doorknob and pulled it open with every bit of strength she had…
Light exploded from the small doorway and seemed to wrap itself around her. She was caught by it and swallowed whole in an instant.
The force hit her out of nowhere. She was being pulled and dragged in a thousand different directions, and the light was so bright she couldn’t open her eyes. The cold engulfed her—her teeth chattered and her fingers felt frozen in position. She had no idea where she was being taken. All she knew was that she was traveling faster than she ever thought possible. The force kept her arms pinned to her chest and the sensation of time whipping past her ears made her so dizzy and confused that she quickly became unconscious.
The light was gone.
Everything was dark.
She was alone.
5.
She shivered and rolled onto her side. The bright light was long gone, but the cold and feeling that she was somewhere she shouldn’t be was still coursing through her. She curled into a ball, afraid to open her eyes… Where was Rebecca? And most importantly, where was she? Was she still in the archives? The sensation of open air around her suggested that she most certainly wasn’t. But she didn’t understand… What had happened when she opened that door?
A bird squawked overhead and she jumped with fright. She was outside. She hadn’t wanted to admit the possibility before, but the bird had just confirmed it.