As Syddall crossed the bridge, a blood-curdling shrill resonated from below.

“What in the great divine was that?” Syddall peered over the railing; nothing but the dull lights and the pit of black could be seen. His eyes were locked into the darkness; he was incapable of looking away. He needed to know what made the scream; he needed to see what he was up against.

“Over there, the intruder is heading onto the central spire.”

Syddall’s determination was interrupted by the shouts of the librarians as they started to swarm around him. Syddall ran further inwards to the spire, jumping from the rotating platform and landing on the stable center. To Syddall’s surprise, the Librarians were not crossing the rotating platforms; they were standing just on the other side of the gap.

“What now? You take me away, and I am thrown out of the Library?” Syddall yelled, trying to provoke a response.

“No, that scream you heard below you is the lumbering abomination. We will wait to see if it comes up; if it does, we will leave you to the beast; if not, we cross these bridges and use your skin for book repairs.”

Syddalls eyes widened in disbelief; once again, he peered over the edge. This time the black started to stir with movement still too far to see, but it was apparent it was colossal.

“Well, since we are all just standing around, you won’t mind if I look at some reading material?”

“You think just because those books are in the center, they will be of importance? Our system is far more complicated than that.”

“Oh no, I just need some books for my nightmare studies. I am going for my master’s, and unfortunately, someone stole all the media on it. So, I must travel all the way here to get the reading material just so I can study. Hardly seems fair, does it?”

Syddall continued to shuffle through the books laid out before him, finding himself closer to the topic he requires with each book.

“Ahh, this should be what I need; I am just going to borrow a couple of these.” Syddall started to pack his bag with an assortment of books; as he drew his hand, he revealed his lightweight pistol. “Now, there are a solid twenty or so of you, but my guess is none of you want to get shot, so I will be taking my leave now.”

Laughter burst from behind hooded shrouds, “You threaten us with nothing but crystal weaponry; I thought it was common knowledge we followed Glimvondoya. Gleam Eyes is a gracious god that bestows many glorious gifts, so trust me when I say that that gun is helping us more than you.”

“I am sorry, but I fail to see how me pointing a gun at you benefits you. I know you are the subject of the gun, but it is not beneficial when it comes to guns.”

Again, he was met with laughter, “Gleam eyes, god of crystals, your right. He has no way of protecting us against your crystal-based weaponry.”

Syddalls face dropped, “I ain’t buying it.” A green bolt violently exploded from his pistol charging towards the librarians. The bolt contacted its target, flaring as the highly heated energy exploded on contact. Syddalls eyes adjusted back to the dimly lit library; he was greeted with the sight of his target, clothes torn asunder, but still, he stood grinning.

“That is only the simplest of the blessings he bestows; this one, however is my favorite.”

The librarian started to shake as his body contorted; his limbs extended and grew. He curled over, bones snapping and body growing; Syddall unloaded every round he had. Round after explosive round, Syddall lit the main hall with an intermittent green glow. Altering a dial on his pistol Syddall held the trigger down; the gun vibrated as the energy built up.

“Die abomination.” The sizable bolt was let loose as the librarian stood in its new body, quickly raising its arm to catch the bolt, crushing it in its hand. The explosion’s light was tenfold with an explosion to match. The echoing masked the sounds of the lumbering abomination climbing the spire behind Syddall, its presence only brought to light by the limbs falling all around Syddall, scurrying to make it back to the mass rising behind him.

In front of a growing army of sentient nightmares, each capable of killing him, behind him, an abomination that he dare not turn to see.

“Well, I see that I have overstayed my welcome.” Syddall grasped his necklace, holding the button down as he spoke once more. “Come find me.”

The lumbering abomination slammed down its hand, narrowly missing Syddall as he disappeared.

“Short-range teleport; we claim him for Gleam Eyes before he can escape. I want this one alive; a scientist would be a crucial addition.” The librarians had to move quickly to avoid the abomination that was now after them; fortunately for them, in gleam eyes blessed form, they were much faster than the abomination. “The scientist does not have Glimvondoya’s blessing; he will be hunted down by the abomination we find hind before it does.”

No matter how many corridors Syddall turned, he found himself facing groups of nightmarish librarians, his short-range teleport being the only thing saving him. He was fortunate that the cool-down on his teleport was shorter than his encounters with the librarians or the abomination.

The library’s quiet hum disappeared, “strange sounds like a power source shutting down.” Syddall said as he noticed the lamps starting to fail in the distance. “Oh shit, they are turning off the lights. Think, think. Ok, so the power source is probably a central source meaning that I run away from the blackout, and that will lead me out.” Syddall moved faster than he had ever moved in his life; he knew his life was dependent on how fast he could run, on how true his panicked thought on power was.

“A wall! An exterior wall, I can see windows. I am out of this hellish library.” Syddall drew his gun, aiming it at the grimy window in front of him, his aim obscured by the darkness passing him, leaving him in complete black. A black that was cut with a green bolt of crystal energy burnt a path to the now obliterated window. Syddall leaped to his freedom, leaving the confines of the library walls around him. “I am free… Fuck!”

He was now in free fall, heading straight to the ground; stories below him were more Library. As he fell, he turned, seeing the tower he fell from was simply a building within the Library. His panic was short-lived; his pendant started to glow once again, signifying he could teleport once again. Hastily he pressed the button, disappearing from the free fall into the large open hall, reappearing in a narrow hallway.

His body was still moving at speed, although his momentum was now horizontal from the teleport, sending him down the hall as fast as he was falling, slamming him into a shelf of books. He could feel his ribs cracking under the extreme force of the crash. Vision fading, he noticed a group of librarians running full speed towards him with the abomination in tow. No matter how hard he tried to prop himself up, he was incapable of standing, blood escaping his mouth as he coughed through the pain. With one final look, the terrifying librarians were upon him; having given up, Syddall let himself slip away into a deep sleep.