It took ten minutes for me to escape from Claire. She didn’t want to accept no for an answer, no matter how much I made my stance clear. The others ended up on my side by the end of it, which was a little awkward. After I had bid my farewells I made my way out of the Guild and crossed over to the library. If the answers to my questions existed, that would be the place to find them.

I could feel it, deep in my bones.

Compared to the Guild it was nondescript at best. The dull bricks were surrounded by flaky mortar which didn’t look trustworthy at all. The door creaked as I pushed it open, as if it wished to announce my presence to those inside. A small desk lay before me, backed up against a large bookcase that blocked my view of the rest of the floor.

The one issue: No one sat behind it to notice my arrival.

I walked towards it and looked for signs of life. Books littered its surface, though they were all written in a strange, spidery language. My eyes skimmed off the page as my brain failed to register a single word. Maybe the librarian was a translator or something like that? I moved further into the library, on the lookout for anyone who could point me in the right direction.

Several aisles greeted me, created by lines of bookcases that reached to the far end of the room. It was the same size as the guildhall in both width and length, though the roof was much higher. A major difference was the stillness that hung in the air. Like most places of knowledge, it seemed… holy. I moved towards the nearest bookcase and pulled a random book from the shelf.

The same language greeted me once again. My stomach sank as I picked up another, and another, and another…

Seriously, what the hell…

How could that be? If they had given me the ability to speak the language, why the hell didn’t they also teach me to read it?

I’d assumed those above would have prepared us for our new home. The fact I had no communication issues with the people proved as such, but now my initial belief wasn’t so concrete. I put the books back on the shelves and moved towards the rear of the library. Every title taunted me as I walked past.

Maybe if you read us, you would understand the world? Go on, just try it, idiot.

I fixed my eyes on an ornate shelf at the back of the room. It only held a few books, which were my last hope. An odd sensation rose in my brain that pulled me towards them. There had to be a reason these books were hidden away. It was possible no one else could read them. Maybe, just maybe, they were written in a language only I could read. The one from my world.

Unfortunately, reality kicked me whilst I was down once more.

Their covers were as unreadable as the rest. I picked up a random book, its dark red cover a perfect metaphor for my mood. Before it was thrown down once more, a subtle pull tugged at my palm. It was as though the pages were a magnet and my fingers were made of iron. The pull increased in strength as I tried to prise my hand away.

My fingers dug into the pages and flipped the book open despite my own intentions. A barely legible scrawl covered the page I had turned to. even if I had been able to understand the language it wouldn’t have helped as my hands continued to move without any conscious thought. I willed myself to close the book, but my body ignored my commands as it flipped from page to page

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It was as though I wanted to search for a specific section. A quick glance back across the room destroyed my vain hope someone would appear to save me. My hands paused in their tasks, which scared me more so than anything else up to that point.

Whatever was on the page had wanted to be found.

I turned back to the book, ready to snap my eyes shut at a moments notice. My hands had revealed a pure white page, blank save for a small S scribbled in the bottom corner. No monsters jumped out, no horrific images lay in wait. Before I could relax too much the book grabbed at my fingers with its invisible pull once more.

It grew stronger with each second as it evolved from a faint pull to something much more sinister. My hand, which had hovered above the page a moment ago, was stuck to its surface. My skin felt as though it was being peeled from my palm as the pressure increased. I winced and looked around once more. As much as I tried to shout for help, no words came out.

I don’t want to be eaten by a book…

“What’re you doing?”

I glanced to my side in shock. A young girl stood atop the bookcase on my right, her eyes narrow as she stared at me. Her dress reached to her heels, its dull red fabric pitted and scarred from years of use. I opened my mouth to respond but couldn’t force out a single noise.

“Oh, you picked up the book. How did you do that?” The girl cocked her head to one side. “No one should be able to touch it.”

My body fought against me as I tried to shrug. Even that luxury was denied to me. How would I know something like that? And, if I had, it was certain I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near this damn place. The girl watched me for a few moments as the pain increased in my hand. Any second now and my bones would be crushed into pieces.

“You’re the transfer? But why are you here.” She muttered before she stepped off the bookshelf. Despite my wild imaginations of the girl walking on air, gravity proved me wrong once again. She shot towards the floor the instant she left her perch. Her foot caught my hand perfectly as she kicked the book away before she landed on the ground by my side.

“What the hell!” I jumped back and crashed into the bookcase behind me. The girl scowled at me as she picked up the book and dusted it off.

“How rude. I was only trying to help.”

“Wait, help? What does that even mean?” I rubbed my palm. Even though no damage had been done it still didn’t feel quite right.

“You’ve been sent here, right? I felt your arrival earlier.” The girl shrugged. “Didn’t you get told anything?”

“Who are you? How do you know about me?” I watched the book in her hand like a hawk as she waved it about. I'd rather fight another slime queen than face off against a man-eating book.

“I get trapped with an idiot for eternity? Great.” The girl stepped towards me, her hand outstretched. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Rose.”

“Sure. Nice to meet you… Rose.” I nodded as I stepped back. To an outsider it would look bizarre, a man scared of a little girl. If only they knew the truth.

“Yeah. Red. Rose. It’s simple, but I kind of like it.” She raised her hand again. “Nice to meet you.”

I took her hand gingerly. The expected pull didn’t appear which allowed me to settle down a little. She smiled up at me, her expression calm as she watched me squirm.

“I guess you haven’t been through the information transfer?”

“Uh, what?” I tried to pull back my hand but it wouldn’t budge.

“Sorry about this. It won’t take long, I think.”

Before my sarcastic response could leave my mouth, pain assaulted my brain from all sides. Red hot knives sunk into my mind as I tried to scream. They twisted back and forth as they dug deeper and deeper into my thoughts. All I could see was the girl who stood before me. She still smiled at me, but she looked sympathetic to my plight. I opened my mouth to beg her to stop.

I felt my memories open up without my control. I relived the transfer, I saw my friend again, I watched as the old man pulled me aside and dumped me onto this world without a thought. If I had known what was about to happen when the goddess had pulled us aside, maybe I could have warned them. But the past was the past, and there was nothing I could do to change it. 

The worst thing was the fact that I couldn't remember why I felt this way towards her. Out of everyone I had started the transfer with, she was the only one I had this sort of connection to. The others were just blank faces to me already.

But she was different... I had to save her.

The scenes seared themselves into my brain. Rose’s eyes had closed, but I didn’t have the power to pull my hand from her grip. A new wave of thoughts crashed into my brain and sent me reeling. The world in front of me went dark as I dropped to the floor…