Library

Full of books!

Kassia didn't know what to do. Jeremy hadn't given her a job yet and no one seemed interested in forming up a conversation with her. She left her room and headed to the library. The books she owned, she had already read a million times before and was curious to see what type of books the library contained. She peaked through the doorway. It was empty. Good, she heaved a sigh and walked in. It smelled of dust and old parchment paper, as would any old library, and the colorful array of books lined across all the walls perked her interest. She walked around the table to the opposite side of the room, running her finger along the dust books spines, reading each one. Non-fiction, Non-fiction, Biography, Non-fiction. Did they have any poetry? Any Fantasy? She turned and was walking to the other side, slowly, watchfully so as to not miss any book title, when she noticed the art above the bookshelves. They were beautiful. The image that way portrayed so perfectly onto the walls was planted in her mind. "I wondered who painted those" She though. When her ears picked up the sound of her voice, echoing around the room she realized she had said it out loud. Ooops.

The noise of people down the hall made Kassia jump. She put away the book she was looking at and walked out of the library, toward the living room once again. She was tired of being useless, reading books all by herself. She wanted to help.

Abby entered the library.
It was filled with books. So. many. books.
Abby was a fan of stories- her brother used to tell them to her to all the time. The thing was...she never did learn how to read properly. Brother couldn't afford to buy any books to teach her, so teaching Abby how to speak was the best he could do. The only book he did read and show to Abby was Cinderella- the classic story of a princess. She had memorized every word in that book. She knew the story by heart.
Not only did she know how to speak, but she also knew the alphabet, and basic words. She had grown better at english through-out her time alone. You can find all sorts of thing in garbage., and learn all sorts of things by watching, or stalking as some put it, people from afar. And she enjoyed writing.
And by writing she meant scribbling on pieces of paper that somehow told a story to her. No one else really understood them though.
So this was the place she would be guarding. Abby let out a little laugh. It seemed harmless enough. No zombies. It's not like they were just going to pop out of books, she thought jokingly.
Abby stepped up to one of the tall book-shelves. Abby could barely make out the sign- but her small experience with reading helped."Fiction" it said. She stepped back, getting a better view at the books higher up.
And that's when she saw it. Cinderella.
It looked just the way brother's copy did.
Abby went over to the table, picked up a chair and moved it close to the book-shelf. She was determined to get that book down. She wouldn't need to read it; she knew it by heart...but she wanted to see it. Feel it. Smell it. That book was one of her childhood treasures.
Abby stepped onto the chair carefully, crouching on the chair. Slowly, she stood up on the chair. Her hands gripped the book, as she pulled it off the shelf. Finally, the book was in her hands. It felt so good. The feel of that book was amazing. it made her feel safe. Abby held that book harder than she had held anything ever before.
She was so distracted that she did not notice she was on her tippy-toes, legs wobbling. Soon enough, the chair started to wobble as well. Next thing she knew, she was falling toward the floor. She grabbed onto the book-shelf with one hand, but that just caused the book shelf to start leaning, books starting to slide off, and fall towards her.
Abby didn't even bother screaming; she just forced closed her eyes, waiting to meet the ground with a thud and be hit by hundreds of hard-cover books.
And just when her head hit the floor, Abby blacked out.

John came forwards to Abby, as if appearing out of nowhere. He had followed her here from the parlour, and watched expressionlessly as the girl hit against the ground with a sick sound of flesh against hard floor. A thumping and thudding of at least fifty books from the bookshelf battered against her…

And the safety mechanism built into the bookcase kept the whole thing from toppling over. For safety, each bookshelf had a strap on it; the strap was nailed to the wall, keeping the shelf secure.


The boy stared at her motionless figure for another moment, then quickly ran away; he came back a bit later, dragging a frustrated Melanie with him. When Melanie saw Abby had fallen, and that one of the bookshelves had almost collapsed, the girl's jaw dropped in shock.

Then Melanie rushed over, checking to make sure Abby was still even alive. Yes, she was. "John, go and tell Jeremy what happened, okay??"

John stared for another moment, then ran away. Melanie sighed, threw back her hair and quickly threw all the books off of Abby. Overall, Abby would be fine; bruises here and there from the books, but it was her head that Melanie was concerned about.

It didn't look like she had fallen too far, at least.

Melanie sighed once again, then glanced behind her to make sure no one else was there. The girl removed something she had been keeping in a bag at her side…… a small, hypodermic needle, filled halfway with a clear, greenish fluid. Melanie again made sure no one was coming, and then--

Melanie leaned down and quickly stuck the tip of the needle into Abby's arm, slowly injecting all of the fluid into the girl's body. "I promise you won't even know," said Melanie, removing the needle once she was finished.

She again hid the needle, then with a grunt, heaved Abby off the ground; Melanie marched out of the library, taking the unconscious girl over to the infirmary. There was a look of sparkling success in Melanie's eyes. A success that she wasn't going to tell anyone about.

Shirley eventually found her way to the library where she was assigned to guard, after a bit of exploration.
Even with her good memory, it was difficult for her to find the correct rooms in the large mansion.
Upon entering, she immediately noticed what seemed to be the scene of a serious accident.
A bookshelf had nearly fallen over, only being secured by a strap nailed to wall. Not too far away was a toppled over chair and books spread around the floor.

It seemed pretty obvious to Shirley of what had happened here, the only question was who had been injured. She suddenly felt a small stab of guilt, that maybe if she arrived earlier, she could have stopped this.
But, Shirley knew she couldn't dwell on should-haves and could-haves. She pushed the bookshelf so it stood straight again, placed the books where she suspected they would have gone, and picked the chair up again.

After restoring the room the she could, Shirley took a seat at a table, and absentmindedly wondered where the other library guard had gotten off to.

Henry's hand was curled around his light which was in his pocket when he ran into the library, having to remind him not to light a cigarette. He should just throw them away, but even just the thought of having them on him calmed him down. Not bothering to check if there were others in the library, he instantly went over to the area in which was labeled "Nonfiction" biting the side of his lip, he'd just have to hope they had a few things on medicines here. Then, he supposed he would check in the horror to see if they had any zombie books there. For some reason, Henry doubted they would keep any zombie books in the nonfiction, unless someone has moved books recently. Before, Zombies were just fantasy, compleley unreal, but now they are real.

Grabbing a book titeled "Clinical Pharamacology Made Simple." He didn't exactly need it made simple, he though arrogantly, but he didn't really have time to read any complex books. He was actually suprised to find the book so simply, but hey, the family belonged to rich folk. Henry grew up in a baron family, and he knew that if you had the money, why not buy things that may or may not be useful sometime in the future? As he then went to go check out the horror novels, he remembered he had brought a book of his own here, of something he had found back at his college about zombies.

Well. Something similar to zombies, more like a plauge where your skin rots and in most cases you became rapid, and the only way to contract the disease was to have the infected's saliva in your blood. It wasn't zombies, but Henry decided he would take notes between the two. He had a bit of an idea that perhaps that old plague has returned, only more of a nightmare. For now though, he just wanted to sit down and relax while reading something unzombie related...

Heather tried controlling her tears. Why wasn't anyone interested in her? Nobody even said a 'hi' or a 'hey', she thought sadly. Why? Henna had always told her, that if nobody wasn't talking to her, it may be because they are jealous. Pfft, who would be jealous of her? What is so good about her. She knew that 'jealous' isn't the answer.

Maybe they are too shy, Heather decided. It sometimes happen.
She touched her nose. Where they red, like it is always, when she cries? She didn't want anyone to see her red nose!

She pushed the library door, with her lips trembling. A voice inside her was demanding to stop. She bit her lips, afraid she might burst up. The door groaned before opening. Heather stuck her head inside. "Hello?" She called and got in the library. She gasped. There were so many books. Nearly thousand, Heather decided. "Hello..?" She said again, and exhaled. She didn't know she was holding the breath the whole time!

Henry noticed a female enter the room. Well. He actually didn't notice her, not until she began repeating the word hello. Looking up from his book, he decides he's been reading for too long. "Hello, ma'am." He greets her politely, his lips twitching into a small smile. He really didn't feel like introducing himself again..for what seemed the bajilionth time, but he loved communicating with people sometimes. He offered a wave from across the room as he strode forward, but not too close. And then he dropped the books he was holding. And then fell..over the, some how. T_T

"Um.." Was all that Henry could muster with embarresement as he picked himself up for the second time today.

Heather giggled as the guy who said 'hello' to her fell...down. "Sorry." She said in between laughs. "Are you as nervous as I am?" She offered, kindly. And then she realized that she didn't even ask his name!

"No, wait. Whats your name? My name is Heather." She introduced herself. She needed a friend desperately. This man is a nice choice, she decided.

Henry felt himself being laughed at and his face turned a dark crimson shade of embarresement. He looked at Heather and how short she was compared to him, and now he found himself chuckling. He adverted his eyes by creasing wrinkles in his coat. "No, no, I'm not nervous. Well. I am, but you aren't implying what I could be nervous about, thus making the scale between our nervousness unknown." Henry deadpanned, saying the first thing that came to mind. He bit the tip of his tounge, not meaning to sound so smart.

He coughed awkwardly before speaking. "Anyways, I'm Henry. Nice to meet you, young lady." He said with more emotion now, offering a hand to shake. He liked shaking hands, even though it spreaded plenty of germs. Perhaps he should wear gloves..but no, that'd probably be awkward. ;_; Henry would just have to remember to wash his hands.

"So..them zombies.." He trailed off awkwardly, laughing nervously, clutching his books tightly to him. To be honest, these girls and their giggling was giving him an awful headache.

Heather sighed again. What is so wrong with these people? She tried making one friend--and failed. How embarrassing.

She thought if it was because she was younger than them? Perhaps it was. Even Henry was awfully taller than her.

Heather than realized why she came to the library, in the first place. She quickly made her way to the taaall bookshelves. Her eyes might turn into hearts! Heather chuckled, because her thought made her recall Tom & Jerry.

Heather scanned carefully through the books. "Fantasy... Short novels.." She muttered. "Mystery." Aha. She skimmed through and found a brown, leather book. "Mystic Magic." She clutched the book by her chest and walked out of the door, quietly.

Henry watched as the girl sighed and then walked off. So far, it seemed he had a knack for upsetting people. First the girl he never learned the name of, then Katherine, then probably Melanie at the weaponry closet, and now Heather. Sighing gloomily himself, he decided he'd continue studying an uprising theory in his mind back in his own room. So he couldn't bother people.

Shirley watched as the strangers came in at different times, first a vaguely familiar young man seemingly a few years older than her. He had stayed in the library and read for a while, never noticing Shirley in the back of the room. Then, a younger girl came in (quite loudly at that) talked to the man for a bit, then both left, neither even noticing her.

Shirley shifted a bit in her seat and sighed. She seemed to be getting nothing productive done at all in the time she had spent at the mansion. It seems that the library wasn't going to be attacked anytime soon, yet someone had to keep look-out.
She sighed again, and began reading a book the librarian had recommended to her before all this zombie nonsense happened.

Abby entered the library. She first saw two people in the room- a girl she didn't quite know and Henry. She hoped Henry didn't not notice her, or mind she had snuck out of the infirmary a while ago after he left her with Candie.
Abby spotted Shirley in the far back of the room. She smiled and quickly jogged up to her. She was sitting in a chair reading quietly.
"Hey! I'm so sorry I didn't come earlier... I've been having a weird few days. I-i bet I'll get used to them living at the mansion..." she said, panting. Abby could never handle running- not even a light jog. She had terrible stamina, and even worse speed. She was faster she walked.
Abby slowly sat at the closest seat to Shirley on the table, waiting for her to look up from her book. She started to stare at the others in the room, fascinated by the short girl with long brown hair. She seemed to be looking for a book. She then left the room. Abby made sure she would talk to that girl later- she seemed interesting.
Her attention went back to Shirley.
"Any zombies attack you while I was gone?" she asked playfully, trying to spark a conversation between the two guards.

Shirley noticed Abby jogging over towards her, yet she continued to stare down at her book.
After all, she was in a crucial point in the plot.
Abby then vaguely explained why she was gone, without giving a real reason. Shirley had noticed she was gone, but it never really crossed her mind to wonder where she had been.
Abby sat next to her, and stared at the others in the room. After a bit, she spoke to Shirley again.

"Haha, unfortunately, it's been pretty quiet around here..." Shirley said, lifting her head from the book and smiling meekly. Suddenly wondering whether or not the calm library was good for her not.
"But... when I walked in, there was a massive mess on the floor, it looks like someone had a pretty nasty accident. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Shirley asked her co-guard.

Abby looked down at the table nervously. She didn't realize the incident caused a huge mess that she didn't clean up, but it wasn't necessarily her fault- she had lost her memory of that time anyway. She only knew the general concept of what had happened, due to asking around and investigating. She still didn't know who she was injected by, and more importantly, by what, but she decided not to mention that to Shirley.

"I-I-i" Abby nervously stuttered. She sighed, giving in to explaining the truth. "I caused the mess Shirley. I don't remember the details of what happened because I hit my head when I fell. I believe I was getting something off the bookshelf standing on a chair and lost my balance, resulting in me pulling down the bookshelf and being buried in books. Thankfully, Melanie took me to the infirmary and the bookshelf had a safety strap to it to prevent it from falling off. I'm very sorry that I didn't help clean up the mess..."

Shirley's eyes widened.
"Oh... oh my gosh. I didn't even think about that. How could I not realize that? I mean... are you okay?" Shirley fumbled with her words. She was never very good with communication; especially when it came to comforting people.

"And, oh my lord, you don't have to feel bad about not cleaning up. I mean, you were knocked out for God's sake." Shirley said, rather abruptly. She was amazed that someone would apologize for being unconscious.

Abby smiled. It was nice to have someone worry and care for her. Still, she didn't like the fact she made her worry.

"Yes yes I'm fine. Just a few bruises, nothing serious...I believe. I didn't have to stay in the infirmary for too long as well because my injuries were minor."

She wondered if she should tell her about the needle. This was a newly made friend after all. Should she trust so easily? Sure, Shirley seemed trust worthy.

"I-I have to tell you something. After I fell...I felt as though someone...injected me. I don't really know if it's real or anything, but in the infirmary after I first woke up from being unconscious for a while I had these flashes of images of books falling and crashing onto the Library floor. It seemed as though all of the images had been right about what had happened when I felt...except the ones with green and a needle. But, if everything except those were right...shouldn't the others be right too? I don't know- I don't want to believe someone would do that when I was so defenseless, and I'm worried about what they DID do to me, but I feel silly worrying over a bunch of images in my head." she explained to Shirley. She felt better getting it off her chest and being able to open up to someone gave her more confidence and reassurance.

Shirley listened intently throughout all of Abby's story. It was a new experience for her to have friends confide in her. And, Shirley felt a little bit of pride in it.

After Abby had finished her explanation, Shirley scratched her head and gave it some thought. After a little bit, she came to a conclusion.
"I wouldn't rule anything out right now. I mean if you think about it, we're in the midst of a Zombie Apocalypse, pretty much anything seems perfectly reasonable right about now. Actually, I've heard that Melanie's and Jeremy's parents were scientists... or doctors, or something." Shirley was again disappointed in her memory, it seemed that it was rapidly deteriorating ever since she got to the mansion. But for now, she shrugged it off, as more important things were capturing her attention.
"...Anyway, you may want to check that out. "

She nodded. Shirley was right- she had heard that too. They were all suspects. It was their mansion. The needle that was used was not in the infirmary and was specially made. It could be Jeremy- but he always seemed so busy. It could be Melanie, she did in fact carry her to infirmary- but she seemed too nice and clueless about it though when Abby confronted her.
It could be John.
Abby gulped, not wanting to think about that possibility. She had seen him in the images too. Why had he been there? Could he have...
No. John was nice to her. He was almost a friend to her- or at least, she wanted him to be.
But what if he didn't like her? What if he acted shy and innocent but actually wasn't?

Abby shook her thoughts away. No. She was hear to guard, not think of horrible situations and her own problems. Maybe she should talk about Shirley instead of having the conversation focus on herself.
"Well, how are you then? Anything interesting happen?"

"I mean, I'm fine. At least, as fine as I could possibly be in the current situation. I'm not sure whether it's relieving or sad to say that everything's been going pretty smoothly since I got to the mansion. Although, I did do some damage to the floor in the office, but I don't think anyone cared... at least, I hope so." Shirley recounted her past few days in the mansion as she brushed her fingers through her short hair.

"I just wish I could do more to help." Said Shirley, when she finally found the right words to express how she had been feeling.

Abby stared at Shirley. She wanted to help out as well. Currently she had been a big bother to everyone with her clumsyness and horrible memory. But there was one thing she did recall that she and Shirley both could do.

"Hey, I remember Jeremy mentioning something about an exercise room and equipment in need of moving...." Abby paused. She had no idea what she was saying- she had never really heard him mention an exercise room. But something drew her to believe that idea. Maybe she had known it before her fall; it was possible.

"May-maybe we should go and check it out, see if he could use any help..." she continued. There was only one other person in the library and that was Henry. If any zombies "did attack" somehow, he'd probably be able to handle them, but it was most likely that zombies were not going to be in here. She wondered if Shirley would feel bad leaving her responsibilities, but honestly, sitting here waiting for zombies to appear wasn't very helpful.
"I think I'm going to go check it out. If you wish to tag along too, you can happily come join me. I'd love some company." she said, smiling at Shirley. She was being as friendly as she could, cause' honestly, she didn't want to be alone.
Abby walked out of the Library, letting her senses lead her to the so called "Exercise room."

Abby left the room, and Shirley had a bit of time to think it over.
Well, really, it didn't take much time at all. Shirley was looking for a place to help, and this was pretty much the perfect opportunity. She pushed out her chair and stood up. Shirley left the nearly empty library behind her as she ventured off to find an "exercise room."