Beyond the Walls
Chyanne Adams
Nonfiction to the left. Sci-fi to the right. Romance straight ahead. Getting lost in books is just a figure of speech. The alternative world and mystery that lies between the pages make people curious as to what happens next. Linda did not expect that the mystery she was surrounded by would transpire into the real world.
It was just another Wednesday afternoon at the Atheneum. Linda was sitting at her regular desk when she noticed something out of the ordinary. The stack of books sat in front of the wall straight ahead of her. According to legends, Linda and the curious cat were told to be close cousins. Nothing gets past her, no matter how discreet. Every time she comes into work to clock in, the books on the wall always seem to be at a different angle. Sometimes 3 inches to the left and sometimes 3 inches to the right. But this time, Linda couldn’t leave it alone. She needed to know what was behind this shelf.
Linda worked with three other women as the library was more of an intimate, family-orientated business. Linda was always one of the first ones to clock out since she felt out of place and was only going to be there temporarily.
The day went on ever so slowly before it was time to close and the regular customers were making their way out.
Linda finally made it over to the bookshelf and began to analyze it. Row by row, she glanced over the books. Historical fiction sat on the top row, biography on the second, classics on the third, fantasy on the fourth, and children’s books on the bottom. Linda noticed some of the fiction was mixed up with the biography, indicating that someone was tampering with the shelves.
“Linda, you alright?” she turned around slightly startled to see her manager, Ms. Theresa. She was a petite gray-haired lady who was very light on her toes. She always managed to sneak up behind people to make sure that they were doing what they were told.
“Yes, Ms. Theresa, I’m fine. Just making sure everything was where it’s supposed to be.” Linda left with an uneasy laugh and Theresa walked off, quieter than she did before. There was something about that wall.
“Linda, are you sure you wanna close up? I don’t mind staying here a bit longer.” October asked. She was Ms. Theresa’s daughter and she was the eyes and ears around the place. Whenever anything was out of place, she was the first to notice.
Linda was at the front desk, acting as if she was reading up on her assigned novel from one of her English classes at a college she was attending nearby. She majored in education and had one more semester left before she got her degree. Her job was the only place she seemed to get any quiet since her roommate was a social butterfly who enjoyed having company over almost every night.
“Yes, I’m good. I’ve been here long enough to know how this establishment works.” “OK. Don’t say I didn’t ask. Because I did ask and you didn’t—”
“Good night, October. See you tomorrow.” Linda dismissed her, pretending to continue reading the book. Linda had to pretend as though things were normal so October would not know that she was there to find out what was beyond the walls.
October smiled again and walked out, locking the door behind her. Linda waited a few moments before she returned to the wall again, brushing her fingertips across the spines. Linda felt a small gush of air pushes past her, sending a chill up her spine. It was as if somebody was standing right next to her, making sure she figured it out.
Linda brushed her fingers on the sides of the shelf, feeling her fingers stop on something cold. She leaned over to see a keypad lock with faint dust on it. The passcode consisted of five different numbers. Conflicted, Linda dusted off her fingers and walked away,
The next day came around and it was a rather busier day. Linda couldn’t get any sleep that night since she could not fully see what was back there. The vault completely stumped her up and she needed to find the passcode. Linda had to play the cards close to her chest. Getting the passcode wrong could set off some alarms and make the rabbit hole she was getting ready to step in feel more cavernous.
As usual, she did her daily task, helping out the customers and appearing to be undisturbed. She glanced straight ahead to see October standing at the wall, looking at all of the books. Linda froze, hoping that nothing would come of it. October looked to the side where the padlock was for a moment and walked away, continuing to where she was going.
The day went by quickly as Linda kept herself busy. Ms. Theresa asked Linda to close again and she gladly accepted. The more time she had with the wall, the more she could figure out what was behind the wall.
Linda walked back to the wall after locking the front door. She pulled down the blinds to prevent any onlookers from seeing what was occurring inside. Linda took a half step back and looked at the biography shelf, noticing something rather peculiar. The books lined up next to each other in the direct middle had numbers in the titles. ‘One More Story’, ‘Eight Times the Charm’, ‘Seven Lives, Seven Lies’, and ‘Four Seconds’. With hope in her heart and inquisitiveness in her brain, Linda took her chances. Moments later, the lock made a quick but sharp snapping noise, with the same book that helped open the vault last time peering through, looking to see who was disturbing it. Linda grabbed the book and pulled it forward, this time with the door opening all the way. The books with the numbers on them popped off the shelf like popcorn.
It was pitch black inside. The partially crumpled piece of paper sat in the middle of the table. The light from the other side of the door made the paper the only thing noticeable as if it knew that this is what Linda may have an interest in. Cautiously, Linda walked inside, taking notice of her surroundings. There were boxes stacked up all around with cobwebs piling up. The air was stiff, as though no air entered the room until then.
‘If you’re reading this, my name is Ivana J. Primer. I have no idea how long I have been stuck in this room but I’m hoping someone will find this. I’m begging you, please find my parents. My mother's name is—-’
Linda flipped the page around to find it blank. The bottom of the page was ripped off. Confused, Linda checked all around the table with no luck. There were too many boxes in the room for Linda to even know where to begin so she decided to leave out, promising to come back again to dig a little deeper.
With ease, she slipped back out of the room, closing the door behind her and pushing the shelf back the same way she found it. Nobody could know she was in here so she had to be careful when searching around for who this Ivana was and where she could be right now. Linda placed the books back on the shelves in the same manner that they were and headed to the door, using all of her might to push the door that felt like it weighed tons. She locked it back and placed the books back on the shelves the way they once were. The more Linda fixes the wall, the less likely anybody would notice that it’s been disturbed.
No results found. Linda was on her phone looking up Ivana J. Prime in all of the databases but nothing showed up. She have been living in this town her entire life, and nothing about a kidnapping ever came across her radar. The name did not strike her as familiar and she did not see any missing fliers posted anywhere.
“Good morning, everyone,” October announced, walking in with a tray of coffee in her hands, walking like a baby taking its first steps. “I bought you all some coffee.” everybody crowded October, taking their cups and thanking her. Linda hesitantly grabbed hers, forcing a smile. After last night, she did not know who to trust. She was already in her own space, but she knew not to overstep. Whoever Ivana was seemed to be a mystery around town. But Linda made sure to keep it under wraps. There was no telling who Ivana was and who in the atheneum knew of her.
Linda was back inside the room again. The ripped note sat on her mind for a few days and she could not leave until she looked for some more clues. Everything was once how she originally left it, as though it was never disturbed.
“Maybe Ivana left some other things around. Hopefully, I can find it.” Linda mumbled to herself. The further she walked in, the darker the room became. She grabbed her phone from out of her back pocket, turning on the flashlight. She touched the first box, blowing off the dust and waving her hand in the air, clearing her vision. She opened the box and found stacks of paper.
Lins began to analyze them when the room turned dark with a loud bang following immediately behind it. Linda ran back to the front and saw the door closed. She used all of her might to push the door back open but there was no use. She banged as hard as she could but it barely made a sound. There was no telling how this happened but Ivana’s rescue may have to wait a bit longer until Linda finds her way out.
