"Hey, Stan?" A whisper rang out.
"What is is it, Susan?" An old voice replied.
"Well, it's just that...Did you ever see those kids leave?"
Stan stopped what he was doing, "Well, did you? You were sitting at the front desk, right? Maybe they slipped past you while you were reading that novel of yours?"
Susan thought about it and responded, "Nah, Stan. I think they didn't leave! They must be stealing the books!" Her strained whisper alerted the guard that was standing nearby. His head jerked left and right. Stan got off his ladder and paced towards Susan.
He said, "I'll go look that way," he pointed to the right-wing, "Susan, you go left-wing and you will go to the east-wing." They all nodded their heads and started to run off in their respective directions.
I could hear footsteps scurrying around the library. It was dark, so I couldn't see that well. But, my other senses were heightened, like my hearing. I nudged Bill and George hard enough that they would both wake up but soft enough that they knew something was wrong. Bill was the first to get up and become alert. George took his time wiping the sand out of his eyes and yawned. I slapped my hand over his mouth, which brought him back to his senses. His eyes widened like dinner plates. I whispered very quietly to them, "The librarian, Stan, and the guard are looking for us. They don't know where we are, but they're coming real close."
The twin's eyes were those of frightened children. They knew the consequences of getting caught. Six years in the cell. We were all afraid.
George whispered in confusion, "Who's...Stan?"
Bill answered him quickly, "It's the old dude."
"What old dude? I didn't see any old dude when I came in."
Bill was clearly annoyed, "Shut the fuck up!," he seethed, "That's not important!"
George shrugged his shoulders, "Okay."
All of us didn't move a muscle. It didn't matter where the footsteps were; one sound would be the end of it all. The bookshelves provided great cover, but we were cornered- literally- if we were seen.
Suddenly, we heard footsteps coming our way. We all sucked in a breath of air and held it. The sound was accompanied by light, probably from a flashlight. We took even more precaution and knelt down to our knees. The light shined through the books but failed to reach our whereabouts. We breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the footsteps would turn the other way. But, they approached closer. I looked at the twins. They looked back at me. We were fucked.
The footsteps came closer and closer as we breathed in shorter and shorter breaths. Until...the sounds stopped. I could see the shoes on the man. They were oxfords. Wait, they were oxfords...Stan?
As soon as I realized it, a small book was removed from the shelf and a face could be seen. It was Stan. He looked at all of us huddled in the make-shift room. All of us looked at him with pleading eyes. He ignored the twins and fixed his gaze on me. He whispered, "I don't know who you are, but I can tell that you're not here to steal any books, are you?" We all shook our heads. He gave us a small smile before saying, "I can't do as much I want to, but I can give you a way out. Will you take it?" We all nodded our heads in unison again. We were puppies acknowledging our master's commands.
He hollered back to his colleagues. We cringed before we heard what he said. "Susan, guard! We're clear over in the right-wing!"
There was a slight pause before Susan hollered back, "OKAY, STAN!"
He looked at us one more time and says, "If you keep going straight ahead through the right-wing, you'll find an emergency exit door. As soon as you open it, the alarm will sound. So, hurry out. Also, never face back during the entire trip. There are cameras, but they only record from an angle. The darkness should help you, but the guard is about to get the lights. So, if I were you, I would hurry." He turned around, but then looked at me one more time and said, "Till we meet again."
He quickly walked away. George asked us a question, "You think we can trust him?"
"Do you have another plan?" Bill responded.
"Okay let's go!" I whispered. We all pushed the shelf a little and squeezed out, just like the way we came in. Under the cloak of darkness, we scurried across the wooden floors like mice. Along the way, we passed many holograms that gave eerie incandescence. Every shadow, flicker, and sound made our hair stand on edge. It was a long way to the destination, but we could see the bright red 'EXIT' sign. This gave us an ounce of courage to continue.
*Flick*
Bill whispered, "GuYS!" He pointed behind us. I jerked my head around to see the lights rapidly turning on all the way from the left-wing. Shit! If those lights hit us, then our faces will be revealed. Two of us also looked back, so hiding was not an option.
I yelled, "RUN!" All three of us sprinted across the glazed, floor. Our steps caused the books on the shelves to creak and loud booming noises to reverberate on the floor. We didn't give a damn about any of that. We could see the sign getting closer, but we could also hear footsteps behind us.
"Hey! Stop right there!" yelled the guard. He pulled out a taser and aimed it at one of us. I pulled out the book that saved.
"Whatever happens, don't look back!" I said to the twins. They looked at me with curiosity but kept sprinting forward. I unsheathed the book and threw it behind me without looking. The book swerved until it found its target. The forehead of the guard. The book's sharp edge his him right in the glabella. He shrieked out in pain and dropped the taser. Perfect.
I gathered more speed as I raced out the emergency exit door right after the twins. We kept running for a hundred more feet before we took a turn on a street corner and slowed down. It was the dead of night, so no one was around to suspect us for anything. George shouted with adrenaline coursing through his veins, "WoooHooo!"
Bill punched him in the chest and said, "You almost got us locked up for six years, genius!"
George rubbed his chest and gave his brother a familiar rib on the head. As he ruffled his hair, he responded, "How are your wet socks keeping up?"
Bill gave him the middle finger. But, what George said was true. Bill's socks dampened the thin shoes that he was wearing, so there was a trail that formed from the library to us. I suggested that we keep walking, and they complied.
I threw them a question to chew on, "So, where do you think we should stay now?"
Bill thought up some ideas, "maybe we could stay out on the streets, in the public bathrooms, maybe even pretend to shop around in a mall? For safety reasons."
I nodded my head in disagreement, "The streets are too harsh, the bathrooms could b used at any time and by anyone, and the mall wouldn't let us sleep in there, would it?" Bill brainstormed some more.
After we walked for more than a mile, I spotted a mailbox. I ran over and took out my not and dropped it in. I smiled. It should get there safe and sound...and hopefully in one piece. George called out to me, "Yo! I think I thought of something good!"
"Let me hear it," I said.
George replied, "We could sleep under a bridge."
Bill wasn't convinced, "But, wouldn't that run into the same problem as sleeping in the streets?"
"Well, yeah. But, we've got something over our head to compensate."
Bill and I sighed. We were too tired to argue with George and his... out-of-the-box ideas. We follow him to an underpass and set up camp. Bill was the lookout this time. The cold lights from the upper part of the bridge shone down on us. It gave us a forsaken feeling. I was not wanted or needed. The same goes with the twins; otherwise, why would their so-called family send them off with nothing. At this moment, while a lay on the frigid, dusty ground surrounded by blaring cars and hostile lights, I wish I could exchange my freedom for a sense of security. For a sense of wantedness. For the sense of...comfort. But, that wish disappeared from my mind. And so did my consciousness as I drifted asleep.