by Chris Miller
“I don’t know what that means, but I know you need me and I’m worth more than a quarter.”
This kid was something else—a regular businesswoman in kindergarten. I shuddered to think of what she would be like by the time she was twenty. She’d probably own half the city by then.
“Fine, a dollar. But I’m not paying you until you find the book.”
“No problem, this is gonna be easy,” she said greedily. With an eager smile she examined the numbers and silently mouthed each one as she read them. Then, in a moment of recognition her face lit up.
“It’s right over here…. C’mon, follow me.” She led me up and down aisle after aisle, skipping and giggling all the way. At times we circled back across the same aisles until it became clear that this was actually some kind of game for her.
Just when I was about to forget it, she shouted, “Here it is, mister…. See?”
“But this is where we started!” I said, realizing we were standing in the exact same place as before.
“I know,” she answered with a goofy smile. “I told ya you were lost!”
“Right,” I said slowly, suddenly realizing I had just been duped by a little girl. Good thing my friends weren’t here or I’d never live it down.
“The book should be right up there somewhere,” she explained, pointing to a shelf too high for her to reach. Looking up, I immediately caught sight of a pair of books that were placed backwards, their spines facing in. Sandwiched between the two misplaced titles was a green hardcover book. It was about an inch thick with gold embossing on the side. To my surprise the label on the spine of the book matched the number sequence the librarian had handed me. Retrieving the book from the shelf, I examined the cover and title, which read:
THE WATCHERS: MYTH OR MYSTERY
Simon Ot
“Wow, that’s a boring kind of book to be reading,” the little girl said. “I’ll bet it doesn’t even have any pictures in it. Why do you want a book without pictures? Are you boring or something?”
“I guess,” I answered still staring at the cover. It was a strange title to be sure, but what I was more interested in was the symbol that accompanied the title, an open eye. It matched the one I had seen tattooed on Vogler’s hand and printed on the back of his card. In a snap, the thought occurred to me that Vogler could have been the one who set up my library account. He certainly had all my information and more than enough authority to pull off something like that. The question was, why would he want to?
“Ahem,” the little girl interrupted, her hand outstretched with her palm facing up. “The dollar?”
“Oh, right…how could I forget?” I said, digging in my pocket for change. I came up empty. The girl gave me an angry glare. Before I could explain myself, a nervous-looking woman ran up the aisle and saved me.
“There you are, Sabrina,” the flustered woman with a strong Spanish accent said as she approached us. She took the little girl by the arm and began to scold her. “I’ve been looking all over for you. You know better than to run off like that!”
“But Mama,” Sabrina replied, “this guy owes me a dollar. I helped him find a book and….”
“I don’t want to hear it! You’re in trouble, chica.”
Sabrina folded her arms in an agitated humph.
It struck me as slightly odd that she would call the woman her mother. After all, the little girl was fair-skinned with red hair; her mother was exactly the opposite: tanned skin, jet black hair.
The mother turned her attention to me and offered an embarrassed apology. “Sorry for the trouble. I hope she wasn’t too annoying. She can get a bit…excited at times.”
I explained how she had been a big help, and with a pleasant smile the woman snatched the little girl away in a hurry, leaving me alone with the mysterious book in hand. Sabrina shot a look of pure hatred my way, motioning a finger across her throat in a clear threat. If she wasn’t so small, I might have been genuinely frightened of her.
Boo-dwe-oop.
The book in my hand let out a gargled, digital sound. The muffled ring seemed to be coming from somewhere within the pages. Flipping the cover open, I discovered the book was a fake. The pages were missing; the edges were there but the center had been hollowed out. What remained was a perfect compartment for hiding things. A curved black device was nestled inside the book, its smooth display backlit with bright blue letters that read DESI. Below the letters, two digital buttons offered me a choice: Accept or Ignore.
I picked up the device and pressed Accept. A voice spoke.
“Took you long enough,” the voice said in a playfully urgent tone. It sounded like a girl close to my age. In a way she sounded strangely familiar, though I couldn’t figure out why.
“Excuse me?” I answered. “Do I know you? Who is this?”
“You need to get out of there,” the girl said authoritatively.
“Why, is this some kind of prank?” I asked. “Who is this!” I demanded in hopes of a direct response. The voice didn’t say.
“I’ll explain later. You’re in trouble. You need to focus on what I’m about to say. Vogler is coming. He wants to take you into custody. He’s entering the building as we speak. If you want to save your life you will run.”
“Run? Are you kidding? I’m not running from the cops. That’s…like…illegal, isn’t it?”
“He’s not a cop, he’s a Watcher. And it’s only illegal if they catch you trying. Do you want that to happen?”
I glanced back at the book title in my hand. The caller knew something about Watchers and apparently Vogler was one of them. Considering the tattoo that made sense, only I hadn’t a clue what a Watcher was exactly.
“What’s a Watcher? Are you a Watcher?”
“You ask too many questions,” the voice said, sounding a bit annoyed. “Listen, the main thing is to get you out. Vogler is in the building. See for yourself.”
With a soft bleep, a hidden screen behind the polished face of the device brightened to display a closed-circuit video stream of the library interior. The angle of the shot was positioned somewhere across the room, high above the bookshelves. It zoomed in on the front doors as the detective entered. In the video he pushed open the glass door, took a quick glance in either direction and approached the main desk.
Curious to see if the feed was indeed live, I moved to the railing and glanced over the edge. Vogler was down there all right, and he was discussing something with the clerk. The man behind the counter gestured upstairs as he had done for me. Quicker than lightning, I ducked down in hopes of remaining unseen.
“He’s…he’s coming up!” I gasped.
“Yes, I know. Now, are you going to listen to me or are you going to take your chances with the man in black?”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t…but if you do as I say, I promise to help.”
It didn’t take long to make up my mind. I was just starting to piece my life together. The last thing I wanted was to be in custody. I decided to side with the voice on the phone.
“What do I do?”
“From now on don’t talk, just do as I say. Move one aisle over and head to the middle of the bookshelf… keep low to the ground and wait for my word.” Doing as I was told, I crawled around the bookshelf I had just finished searching and fell to my stomach. Angling my head just right, I could see through stacks of books to the staircase. Moments later, Vogler’s bald head bobbed into view, rising up the stairs with each step.
“Remember, stay put and don’t make a sound,” the voice said. I held my breath as the detective topped the stairs and turned my way. With the confidence of a cat, Vogler headed for the exact aisle where the Watcher book had been kept. What he didn’t know was that on the opposite side of the same bookshelf, I was watching him, keeping as low to the floor as I could.
His polished black shoes c
ame to a stop directly in front of my face. After a brief pause, he shuffled to the right then back to the left. He was searching for something he wasn’t finding. The thought crossed my mind that he might be looking for the book I was holding.
“Hmmm,” he breathed, intrigued by what he found or couldn’t find. A breathless two minutes later, Vogler turned and walked away. Once he was a safe distance from me, I let out a deep sigh of relief and gasped for air.
“Go to the other end of the aisle now,” said the girl in the devise. This time the urgency in her voice was understood. She didn’t have to ask twice, I was already on my way. As Vogler moved toward the outer end of the aisle, I countered his move on the inner side. I turned the corner and flattened myself against the width of the bookshelf. For the next several minutes I held my place in silence as Vogler scanned down each of the remaining aisles, one-by-one.
Eventually, he gave up the search as a bad job. His next move was to the edge of the railing where he could look out over the lower level of the library. His eyes, still hidden behind the reflective lenses, were no doubt searching the faces of those below…searching for clues…searching for me.
The voice in the device spoke up once more.
“Listen, we’re running out of time. There’s a group of chairs and reading tables near the wall to your right. It’s where the second-story emergency exit is located. It’s out in the open, but if you hurry you might make it.”
“Might?” I half-whispered, wondering how it was she expected me to take a chance on a word like might. “Can’t we just wait it out until Vogler is gone?”
“Shush!” the voice answered, clearly upset that I had broken silence without permission. I couldn’t tell for sure if he had heard me, but Vogler cocked his head slightly to the right. I flattened myself against the endcap once more just in case. He didn’t look fully but I sensed that even though his back was turned his attention was somehow aimed this way.
“That was close!” she scolded. “I’m only going to say this once and then I’m hanging up. Outside the emergency exit, you’ll find a ladder behind the door. Climb up to the roof. You have sixty seconds before I leave without you…fifty-nine…fifty-eight….”
Bleep.
Just like that the call ended as abruptly as it had begun.
The logic of her suggestion was more than questionable; it was entirely absurd. Running for the exit meant walking right into plain view. Besides, there was sure to be an alarm on the door. If I somehow managed to arrive unseen, the alarm would be sure to draw everyone’s attention. Vogler would be on me like a rat on cheese.
With no time to think, I checked around the corner of the bookshelf once more. To my surprise, Vogler was gone from his perch at the railing. But where was he now? I eased my way to the end of the aisle and glanced both directions. Nothing, just the briefest glimpse of movement down the stairs. With any luck he was leaving.
With Vogler out of the picture, my attention quickly returned to the emergency exit at the end of the aisle. It was less than fifty feet away, directly in front of me. Too easy. Alarm or not, I couldn’t leave this stone unturned. I needed to know more about the Watchers, and the girl on the device seemed the only one capable of telling me. I made up my mind, I would trust the voice and go for it.
Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I headed for the exit with a determined pace, only glancing once over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. All was clear until I turned back around. I found myself on a one-way collision course with Vogler himself. How he had done it was anyone’s guess, one moment he was missing—the next he seemed to appear out of thin air.
There was no time to slow my pace. I slammed into him like he was a brick wall. I tried to brace myself for impact but nothing could prepare me for the strength of this man’s frame. I stumbled backward, steadying myself before I fell over. So much for escaping unnoticed.
“I was hoping I’d run into you,” Vogler said coldly, seeming to eye the book under my arm. “What do you have there?”
“It’s nothing, just a book,” I answered, standing up quickly and tucking the book further under my arm. He was blocking my path to the emergency exit like a safety guards the end zone. If I wanted to escape, I’d have to get creative. I needed a Plan B.
“Let me see it,” he demanded, holding out his humongous hand. I shook my head.
“Listen, Hunter, don’t be afraid. I’m trying to help you, remember? Now, hand it over.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the little girl, Sabrina. Her flustered mother was pushing a stroller and waiting anxiously by the elevator door. With a friendly ding the door slid open and they began loading inside. Even after the stroller was loaded, the elevator looked large enough to accommodate me, if I had enough time to make it before the doors closed. I would have to be quick. I could make it. I would have to.
In a rush, I tore down the aisle that led to the elevator. Vogler stood in shock, apparently not expecting me to run. He gathered his wits and started to give chase. I was only halfway down the aisle when the elevator doors began to close. The little girl’s eyes widened as she realized I was coming straight at her. Her mother pulled her aside in a hurry. If I was going to make it through without triggering the doors to reopen, I’d have to think skinny. Miraculously, I slipped through with inches to spare.
Vogler was too late. He tried to stop the door with his arm but came up short. My timing had worked perfectly. Only now I had to worry about getting out at the bottom before Vogler made it down the stairs. Breathing hard now, I looked over at the mother and daughter who were staring at me in slack-jawed silence.
“Let me guess,” Sabrina said slowly. “You owe him a dollar too?”
“I guess they take late fees pretty seriously around here,” I answered, feeling a bit awkward.
“Is everything okay?” the woman asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “Should we call for help?”
“No, I just need to run as fast as I can when the doors open. So if you can make sure to stand clear, I’ll….” Then I noticed the elevator hadn’t moved. My only hope was to beat Vogler to the ground floor, but this was not helping.
“Why aren’t we moving?” I asked nervously. “Is it always this slow?”
Sabrina shook her head and pointed toward the buttons.
“You never pushed one. It was my turn to do it too, but you jumped in before I could.”
She was right, none of the buttons were lit. This was good. By now Vogler would be halfway down the stairs already. I could still make it to the emergency exit in time. I pressed the number two button and the elevator door slid open immediately. As expected, Vogler was gone.
Stepping out, I turned around and gave the confused family some advice. “If you meet a large angry man at the bottom of the elevator, tell him Hunter says ‘hi.’”
The doors shut on a pair of frightened faces. I felt bad sending them down to meet Vogler. I wondered what he’d do when he realized I’ve given him the slip.
As I pushed open the emergency exit, a loud siren and bright flashing lights overhead alerted the entire library to what I’d done. Stepping out into the light of day, I found myself standing on a metal platform. A slim staircase headed down to the sidewalk below. Just as the voice had explained, I spotted a ladder mounted to the side of the building and hidden behind the door. I started to climb.
I had just about reached the top of the ladder when Vogler barged through the doorway below. Without looking up, he dashed for the stairs to catch up to me. He would have completely gone off track too if it weren’t for one silly mistake.
I dropped the book.
Chapter 9
Ghost Riding
With nowhere to go but up, I finished my climb. Thanks to the dropped book, Vogler was already starting up the ladder behind me. At most, I had thirty seconds to find a new hiding place. As it turned out, I wouldn�
�t have to.
“For a second there, I thought you’d stood me up,” a familiar voice shouted from across the rooftop. The voice from the device belonged to the same girl who had delivered my mail the other night and silenced Mr. Smokey.
“You? What are you doing here?” I asked, somewhat in shock.
“What? Did you have a rooftop date with someone else?”
“No, I’m glad it’s you, I just…didn’t expect…up here.”
She looked me over and raised an eyebrow.
“Here, give me that,” she demanded, snatching the sleek device out of my hand and wrapping it around my wrist. Somehow, the seemingly solid device changed shape in her hands, morphing from a phone to a watch with an incredibly large screen. I noticed she was wearing a similar device as well.
“Wear it like this; it keeps your hands free,” she said.
“Whoa, how did you…?”
“It’s not important. Name’s Desi, but we’ll have to save the small talk for later. Looks like you’ve got a babysitter we need to ditch,” she said just as the first of Vogler’s hands reached over the top of the ladder.
Pulling my arm, she led me across the rooftop. The back wall of the library was shared with Cavinaugh’s hardware store. Beyond that a series of rooftops continued down the street as part of the revitalized “old town” of Destiny. The properties were built fairly close together, only ten feet between them.
As we neared the end of the first rooftop, Desi released her grip and leaped across the ten-foot-gap. I stopped short, uncertain I could make the jump with my backpack. I pulled it off and tossed it across to Desi.
“Hurry up!” she shouted.
I wasn’t usually one to back down from a challenge, especially in front of a girl, but this was ridiculous. At least at school when you practiced trying to outjump your friends, it wasn’t over a two-story drop. A mistake here would mean a long fall to a quick end.
“STOP!” Vogler growled from over my shoulder. He was still a distance away, but was gaining quickly with long powerful strides.