[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-30px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”16px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
My school\u2019s library should not have been the biggest mystery I would ever uncover. I thought that it was just another normal library whenever I pushed through the boring, tan doors. I never could have imagined that those plain, multicolored books could have held such mystical power as I leafed through their endless pages of information and stories. I never expected that the shelves, no matter how tiny or ginormous, could hide so many secrets.<\/span><\/p>\n When I checked out the book \u201cHidden Passages and How to Find Them\u201d on Thursday, I never expected to find a slim, pale gold key hidden in a compartment hollowed out in the last 25 pages of the 5,000 page book. The next day, I decided to ask the librarian because I had absolutely no clue what was going on. But what I did not expect was that when I asked the usually cheerful and helpful librarian about the key, she immediately got angry at me. Then she told me to stop snooping around the library and walked away. During the conversation, I noticed that the librarian never looked directly into my eyes, as if she were nervous.<\/span><\/p>\n During the weekend, I pondered whether or not I should keep researching. The librarian seemed very suspicious and I really wanted to know more. This is why I decided to investigate the shelf under the lie of trying to check out another book. The shelf was nailed to a pale blue wall and seemed annoyingly plain. I was so annoyed that I threw a yellow book from behind me at the shelf. I did not expect that the shelf would make a hollow sounding thump. When I cleared the area that made the sound, I found a trapdoor with a small hole that just so happened to fit the key.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As I let the trapdoor swing open, I stared inside in wonder. Iron rungs led all the way down to jet black darkness. Baited by my impulsive curiosity, I started down the rungs with the books that I took from the shelf on ice cold rungs leading to doom. I landed on a stone platform above a large, brightly lit room. As I slowly looked around, I noticed a tank filled with a mysterious liquid with something curled inside it. As I peered down to get a closer look, two people stepped into the room and I quickly pulled my head away.<\/span><\/p>\n I slowly inched closer to see what was going on. I noticed two young men who were likely related. I think they may have been brothers, although one had electric blue hair and the other had midnight black hair. They both had brown eyes and were wearing white lab coats. As I looked down, one of them complained about something that I couldn\u2019t hear. I slowly moved forward so I could hear the conversation better.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCarlos you can\u2019t expect that a hard-to-find, ultra venomous, violent snake would be unprotected, right?\u201d The one with the black hair rolled his eyes at the blue haired one whose name seemed to be Carlos.<\/span><\/p>\n He complained, mumbling under his breath before replying, \u201dYeah John, but a platoon of twelve dozen soldiers is just too dramatic to protect this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He held up a glass bottle that held a snake that I had never seen. It had giant fangs dripping with deadly looking poison. It had multicolored scales that overlapped into a giant suit of armor.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is the final piece to our magnificent puzzle and the last step to the big reward. It was worth the risk Carlos.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201dWe have already risked life and limb to get the many creatures that she requested us to get for the money reward. We went to the Amazon to get a piranha, went to Antarctica to get a penguin, got a deadly scorpion, we even got a dragon and still much much more!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you implying Carlos? We are almost done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201dI\u2019m just saying if she doesn\u2019t give us the reward I will sic our creature on her. \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As they argued and argued, I got bored and started to read the pale yellow book I had taken from the shelf. This made me unaware that the creature inside the tank was watching me with its beady little eyes. Suddenly, the tank hissed open as Carlos and John took a fang and a few scales from the snake. They placed the fang on the tip of the tail of the beast. Then they placed the scales onto the sides of its tail.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFinally! It is complete!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the two backed away from the tank, a creature slowly rose out. It was unlike any other animal that I had ever seen. Although it had similarities to many different animals and insects like a spider’s many legs, or a wolfhound’s nose, it was a beast of no accurate description. It had a long curled tail like a scorpion, black beady eyes, quills of a porcupine, and a shark’s teeth. It had the agility of a cat, the speed of a cheetah, and the strength of a bear.<\/span><\/p>\n As I watched in horror and awe, Carlos noticed me. He silently turned to his brother and signaled to look toward where I was at. I tried to get away from the balcony but it was too late. With a flick of his wrist, he commanded the beast to follow me. At first I thought I was safe. That mistake was what almost cost me my life. I knew that there were no stairs leading up to the platform I was on, so I hesitated to run. Then I saw the beast unfurl a pair of scaly, red wings and breathe a torrent of flame hot enough to melt diamonds. It was at this point when I started to run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I started up the ladder as fast as I could, but I could tell that the creature was gaining on me. I tried to go faster. I could see the light above me when I suddenly slipped on one rung about halfway up. As I tried to gather my bearings, the creature caught up. I tried pushing off the other rungs and I succeeded in getting back up. It was too late though. As I looked down in fear, time seemed to slow down. The creature’s tail stabbed upwards in a graceful, deadly arc, directed towards my heart. I had gotten out of the way but the monster was just too quick. I watched as its tail stabbed straight into my left leg. I felt an explosion of pain as it hit, and then my leg went numb. As the creature was celebrating its victory, I swung my working leg at it and managed to land a hit. It howled in pain and spiraled toward the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the pain in my leg, I had almost gotten to the top when the creature recovered. It started up the ladder with a vengeance in its eyes. I hastily pulled myself higher as a fresh wave of terror hit me. <\/span>What if I wasn\u2019t able to get out in time<\/span><\/i>? As I got to the top, I noticed that the trapdoor didn\u2019t have a latch. I desperately wedged my fingers into the crack on the unhinged side and pulled hard. It was no use, the door was stuck good. As I collapsed in defeat, I felt something behind me. I picked it up and, upon realizing that it was a crowbar, wedged it into the crack.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The door had just burst open when it caught up to me. I jumped through the trapdoor and swung it shut. I desperately hoped that the door would hold up against the monster.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have enough energy left and I collapsed on the floor. Everything faded to blackness.<\/span><\/p>\n I woke up in the hospital. Upon looking at a nearby clock, I noticed that a few hours had passed since I had last been in the library. As I jolted up, I heard a conversation between my parents and a doctor. I only heard snippets but whatever he said made my parents very upset. I heard:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d and \u201cThere\u2019s nothing we can do.\u201d I realized that I may just die.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That night, I had come to accept my fate. I had cried all emotion out until none were left. I wrote all this down and stuck it under my pillow.\u00a0 It was at this point when the stranger arrived. They wore a cloak covering their body and a mask that covered their face. It was useless, though, because when they spoke I recognized that they were the librarian. She looked like she was hesitant to give me something.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have something to offer you.\u201d After a ton of hesitation she brought out a vial of strawberry red medicine. \u201cThis vial of medicine will heal the poison in your body but it will also take the memories of the experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I agreed to take the medicine soon enough. It tasted like a mix of bitter, sweet, salty, and spicy but with no particular taste. All soon faded to a dream of cotton candy clouds and dancing pandas.<\/span><\/p>\n I have no idea why this paper is under my pillow\u2026 why is this all so familiar\u2026 Why does my head hurt\u2026 I\u2014I remember it all.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My school\u2019s library should not have been the biggest mystery I would ever uncover. I thought that it was just another normal library whenever I pushed through the boring, tan doors. I never could have imagined that those plain, multicolored books could have held such mystical power as I leafed through their endless pages of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-edition-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingwizards.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}