Carla had found herself wandering through the stacks. The BRS hadn’t shown up in any of the computers. Maybe if she knew what the initials meant she would have an easier time with the search.
She stopped, sitting at one of the reading tables, and closed her eyes. Her head rested in her hands, and she just let the soft hum of the air conditioner clear her brain.
BRS? What the hell could it mean?
Suddenly it came to her.
Black Rose.
It was so simple. She couldn’t believe it had escaped her for this long. She was supposed to be the smart one, and she had missed something so obvious. The damn note was tied to a black rose!
She jumped at the sound of a stack of books slamming down on the table. She looked up to find Harvey, out of breath, looking at her.
"Any luck with your search?" His words came out in short, breathless spurts.
"No. Are you trying to give yourself a bad back?" She walked over and took some of the books off of the top of the pile. "I think I know where to start though."
She began shelving the books quickly, having been stuck in the library for so many years she had the shelves memorised. Harvey was struggling, and she found herself doing most of his work.
"You’ll get it soon enough." She patted him on the shoulder, and she swore she saw the boy blush.
"If you need any help, just let me know." He smiled, then vanished back into the stacks, probably heading back towards the front desk.
Carla smiled, and turned, getting ready to start her search a new. A figure seemed to dart past one of the aisles. She couldn’t get a clear view of who, or what it was. All she saw was a running black blur.
"What the hell?" She ran to the end of the aisle, and peered around.
No one was there.
A small chill ran down Carla’s back.
***
Paul sat in his office, just looking blankly at the white wall in front of him. He wanted to pick up his phone and call Julie. Maybe he could ask her out to dinner. They could catch up, have a little wine, and then... and then what?
He suddenly realized he had a little problem. Every time he started to think about that part of the date, the ending, it wasn’t Julie he was with.
He stood up, grabbing his jacket, and rushed out of the office.
He needed to get a drink.
It wasn’t until he was halfway to the Hub when he finally got the nerve to pick up his cellphone. He flipped through the numbers quickly until it landed on Roy’s name.
What the hell am I going to say to him?
He put down the phone. He wasn’t ready for this part. He had actually fooled himself into believing that if Julie was back in town then he would be fine. They would reconnect, and start up what they never got to finish in high school, and Roy would just be a distant memory, or maybe an occasional diversion.
Now he was realizing all to quickly that his plans weren’t going to work out. He grabbed his cellphone again, and the damn thing slid out of his grip. He turned, about to reach down to grab it when he saw the figure standing in the middle of the road.
He only got a brief glimpse of the tall woman, mostly naked except for a black hooded cloak, watching his car rushing towards her. Then he turned.
The last thing Paul saw before the world faded to black was a tree rushing towards the front of his car.
No comments:
Post a Comment