Trevor started his day by waking up early, washing up, eating a bowl of cereal, and leaving home just as his parents woke up, and started their day. He did it to avoid all the drama with the bruise on his cheek.
Then he headed straight to the school. Normally he would take a bus, but since he was out so early, he wanted to use the opportunity and visit an old bookstore that was located only one street from the school. The owner, an old woman named Vera Kovalyova, was already quite pissed at him, but he still wanted to at least get a few attempts. After all, he just needed to succeed once. Just once not open the door to a bookstore or library, but to a very special place called 'The Grand Library', where all the answers could be reached with just one move of a hand. All you needed was the right book, and they had them all.
The day was nice and sunny, just like one could expect from the early days of spring. It was especially visible in the suburban area where his family house was located. It was quite close to the wall separating the fourth district from the fifth, and he had a couple of occasions to peek at what was happening on the other side.
The poverty was terrible. With no access to magic, people there had to depend solely on nature to grow food. Not to mention the effects the barrier protecting the whole city had on them. Such close proximity was causing mutations. People's own bodies were turning against them. Mostly because they couldn't handle the magical powers, since they all were 'Zeros' like him.
That's exactly why he was so adamant about not wanting to end there and wanted to find his salvation in 'The Grand Library'.
It took him twenty minutes thanks to the skateboard, and lack of people on the sidewalks, before he reached five steps long concrete staircase, with a nasty-looking balustrade on both sides made of iron pipes, now all rusted.
On the top was an old door with a big glass in the middle allowing people to peek inside. Decorated with some flourish pattern, and a few letters spelling 'Book Store'. He could see some movement inside, but the light was turned off, so all he could see properly were just the outlines of massive bookshelves filled with old tomes, and new productions. Still, he tried his luck and pushed the door.
The bell just above rang, alarming the owner as Trevor stepped inside.
- We are still closed! - shouted the old woman from the backroom.
Since he didn't end up where he wanted to, he immediately stepped back and closed the door, just to try again, and again. The bell was ringing constantly, which caused Vera Kovalyova to rush out of the main space of her store.
- It's you again! You little punk! - she came out shouting.
That was a signal strong enough for the boy to rush outside. He managed to catch only a short glimpse at the owner. White-haired female in her sixties with a tight bun, and a dress as dark as night. She was wearing pair of glasses made out of thin wire and was obviously furious, so he just darted off heading to school.
It took him only a couple of minutes to see the building surrounded by grass and a bunch of trees that were supposed to be decorations, with a track field behind. People were already gathering there. On the parking lot located on the left side, teachers were locking their cars, and moving towards the building. A row of vehicles was staying in front of the school, with engines still working, belonging to parents dropping the kids off before work. Behind them was a yellow bus, waiting for its turn to release the crowd inside.
There was also a bunch of marauders, like him, approaching from every possible side by foot.
To avoid any accidents he decided to stay on the skateboard and ride as long as he could, and then run inside to get in line for the daily check-up. The guard was sitting behind a short counter in his dark uniform, reading a newspaper, as the students, one by one, approached a massive glass sphere filled with swirling blue energy, just to touch it, and have a quick glance at a small number assembling from that strange power and showing on the surface.
It was hard to see them if you weren't standing directly in front of the magic device, but definitely not impossible.
For a moment he wondered if that was how they found out, or maybe some asshole teacher just basically fucked him over by telling or allowing access to his information to students.
The line of thoughts got interrupted as the time to put his own hand on the sphere came, and he did just that. It was like on any other given day. No change in the movement of particles inside. They were swirling around like always, and a small zero appeared on the surface. He quickly took his hand off and walked past the counter deeper inside the building, passing by a few anonymous kids still waiting for their turn. The guard ignored him like he was ignoring everybody else.
Trevor headed straight to his first class with a quick pitstop to put and get some stuff from his locker. Then a long period of few hours wasted on some basic math, biology, history, and physical activities on the track field happened. He went to the library a few times during the breaks, but all his attempts to open the door to 'The Grand Library' were unsuccessful.
And then the lunch break came…
Just as he was putting some books back in the locker he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder, and two large shadows enveloped him. He was turned around by force to face the ugly smugs of Billy and Joe. Two tall muscleheads with no future, just like him.
- What do you have for lunch? - asked Billy.
Almost two meters tall ash-blonde male with a round face with everlasting red blush on both of his cheeks. Next to him was a slightly smaller brunet guy with residual hair on his chin. They both had black leather jackets with white straps, because they were both cool players on the school 'Crash' team, and they had to showcase their coolness in any way possible. This included robbing him of his lunch.
- Y-yeah… Sure, take it – he squeezed out, doing his best not to laugh or even smile.
After all, they needed to first swallow the bait, literally.
He obediently pulled out the lunchbox from his backpack and gave it to them. Inside were two sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly. To kill the unpleasant small of his little trap he used cinnamon bread, and even added some vanilla extract to the food, and the box itself. It was not perfect, but he deemed it a good enough attempt.
Both bullies looked at one another and laughed, then grabbed the food, to immediately bite it, pushing Trevor. He hit the lockers with his back, quickly grabbed his backpack, to shove the lunchbox inside, and then moved to pick up his skateboard, when both Billy and Joe realized what was going on.
He heard a loud noise coming from one of their stomachs. The other one joined almost immediately. Trevor knew that it was a signal to run, so he immediately bolted, just when his oppressors puked all over the floor. He didn't wait to observe that for many reasons. Not only was it an unpleasant view, but also he was concerned about himself if they were to ever catch him, so he focused on running.
Straight to the library obviously.
He got to the door, and opened it with his eyes closed, hoping for the best.
- Please, please… - he mumbled.
But after opening his eyes, he didn't witness the glory of 'The Grand Library', instead he saw the usual, school one. With empty tables and bookshelves filled with useless rubbish some called literature.
- Fuck – he said emphasizing the F sound and then looked over his shoulder.
There was a lot of noise coming from the corridor. Mostly laughter, so he decided to get one more attempt. He closed the door and then opened it, but the location was the same, just like every freaking time.
- Mister West! - a firm voice reached him from the inside of the room.
It was Miss Smith, the librarian, who already hated him for constantly opening and closing the door. She couldn't understand what he wanted to achieve. For her, it was simply ridiculous behavior.
- Yes, I know! - he responded and just got inside.
She was sitting behind a desk straight on his right and looking at him with her eyebrows frowned, slightly covered by the thick frame of her glasses. Her attire was similar to the usual one. A jacket over some white-ish shirt, and the red lipstick to show that she was available. She was still single, despite not looking took bad.
- I'm sorry Miss Smith – he said, to ease her anger a bit.
Before she managed to respond, from behind the closed door a loud voice reached them both.
- WEEEEEEEST!! YOU ARE DEAD!
- Shit – escaped Trevor's mouth.
The librarian was shocked by what was transpiring in front of her very eyes, but the boy knew how it would end despite her standing next to him. Both Billy and Joe were in for blood, and no teacher could stop them without using physical force, which the fragile librarian couldn't possibly do.
He didn't wait for a second and bolted straight to the window. He opened it as quickly as possible and, threw the skateboard first, then slid through, to get outside. Just when his bullies fell inside the room. Sun blinded him for a moment because he caught a glimpse of it making it past the clouds.
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- What is the meaning of this?! - asked outraged women inside.
He didn't wait for her to find the answer to that question and just picked up his stuff and started running, across the grass surrounding the school. He knew that if he manages to get to the sidewalk, with his skateboard, he will be safe.
Looking over his shoulder he noticed Billy assisting Joe in squeezing through the same tight space he escaped just a moment ago. Trevor could hear Miss Smyth, as she kept yelling at them, but they ignored her, focusing on catching their prey. The boy's head was already outside but he had some problems with squeezing his broad shoulders past the window frame.
A single thought went through Trevor's mind. A simple „shit". He tried to accelerate, but his body refused, so he just focused on keeping pace and not falling on the uneven ground. His breathing was getting heavier and heavier, and then he heard something heavy falling on the ground, which caused him to gasp, and peek over his shoulder again.
Joe quickly picked himself off the ground, after falling on his face. Being a tough kid who played 'Crash', he didn't even feel it. He just started running.
- You are dead! - Trevor heard loudly as he returned with his gaze to the ground.
There were still a couple of dozens of meters ahead of him, but he was way slower with his backpack on and the skateboard under his arm. He could hear his own breathing getting heavier and heavier. Fortunately, the distance wasn't that long so there was no fear of his legs giving up on him, despite the full sprint. He started to feel pain in the chest though.
- You are dead West! - he heard again from behind, but this time there was no way he would look behind.
The sidewalk was getting too close. A couple of fast breaths later he finally reached it, and immediately threw the skateboard on the ground and jumped on it. Then pushing with the other leg he started gaining the momentum.
Sprinting bullies during this time got a lot closer, but when both of their speeds got more or less equal, the gap stopped getting smaller.
The other good thing was that the sidewalk was relatively empty, so Trevor could go nuts. Not to mention the fact that riding wasn't as physically taxing as a full sprint. A dozen seconds later, he finally started increasing the distance, as Joe couldn't keep the pace any longer. He crossed the streets despite the traffic, getting honked at by a few angry drivers, but there was no risk involved since he picked the right time to cross.
Then he finally took another peek, hoping to see his bully in the distance, giving up on the chase, but unfortunately for Trevor, he didn't. He was about to cross the street, still on his track, like a hunting dog.
- Fuck – escaped the boy's mouth, and he returned to looking ahead.
Just at the right moment, as he was about to hit some woman, also using the sidewalk.
- Watch it! - she shouted at him.
- Sorry! - he responded quickly.
His mind though was already past the encounter, as he needed a place to hide. Despite having a skateboard, there was a solid chance Joe would eventually get him, as he had monstrous stamina, and could run for hours, which he proved many times during the matches.
The first place that popped into Trevor's mind was obviously the bookstore. Although Vera Kovalyova was not his biggest fan, she at least knew him, and there was a chance she would hide him, and then tell a lie to the bully, to make him leave. Also, there was a small chance of miraculously opening the door to the Grand Library, which he didn't want to pass on.
As soon as he noticed the familiar stairs and the door, he jumped off his skateboard and made the rest of the distance on his feet. He jumped two steps at a time and quickly pushed the door practically falling inside, to the familiar sound of the bell hanging above.
- Welc… - the old woman cut short her greetings as she turned around and noticed who just got inside.
The smile on her face disappeared immediately, and made space for a more hostile look, as her eyebrows frowned and her eyes started throwing daggers at the kid.
With the light shining down from the chandelier, a nice, old fake-gold one, that looked really expensive. It was hanging down from a very high ceiling. The place was a really good location because of that since the owner could have those ridiculously tall bookshelves, to the point she needed a sliding ladder to reach for some of the books.
There was a lot of dust inside, and clearly, not enough space, as she kept storing some of the tomes in piles made out of towers constructed from stacked-up publications. All the covers had their colors dulled because of a thick grey layer of residual dirt.
In the middle of all this, with one of the volumes in hand, was her, the owner, Vera Kovalyova. Quite close to the counter where she had some papers, a notebook, and obviously a cash register. Behind it was a passageway to a backroom.
Except for all that, there was also a door between the tall bookshelves, easy to miss because of it having the same color as the bookstands.
- Leave – she simply said, bringing back his attention to her.
- Please. I'm in trouble – started Trevor, and immediately looked over his shoulder at the door that just closed making the bell ring again. - Bullies are chasing me. Can I hide here?
- No. Leave, or I'm calling the police. You are a thug, a hooligan, a rascal at best! I had enough of your behavior. Your parents should be ashamed! - her arm shoot up as she was saying those words with an extended index finger.
She was clearly warning him, but he knew that Joe is going to look for him here since he knew about this place as well, and the fact that Trevor was getting on the owner's nerves by constantly opening her door, just like he did in the school library. Actually, probably everybody in the school knew.
- Please miss Kovalyova. He has been bullying me for a very long time. He is going to beat me up.
- Good. Maybe that will knock some sense into your thick skull – she said, putting her free arm on her waist, expecting him to leave.
But Trevor did something opposite by taking another step further inside, completely ignoring what the old woman said.
- Hey! Didn't you hear what I just said?! - she asked, raising her voice a bit.
- Please. I'm in a really bad spot…
- You don't take no for an answer, do you? - she asked, as her mood changed rapidly.
Fury completely disappeared, making space for a much calmer attitude. She even smiled, but this wasn't a nice smile, but rather a vicious one.
- If your parents can't teach you, I will – she added almost instantaneously, dropped the book in her hand on the floor, and started walking towards the desk.
- Please – said, Trevor.
Then he immediately looked over his shoulder at the door. Joe probably was very close, and he even thought that the sound of loud footsteps made by somebody running nearby, on the sidewalk outside, reached his ears. He wasn't sure though, because it was so quiet it could very well be his imagination railed up by panic he was just experiencing.
The woman ignored him completely, and instead grabbed the handle of one of the drawers on the desk, then pulled out a phone.
At the same moment, a loud voice reached them both from outside:
- You are so dead West! You don't even know it! I can't wait to beat the shit out of you!
This loud proclamation made her stop for a second, as it clearly took her by surprise. For Trevor, though, it was a signal to react, because his demise was inevitably coming if he didn't. He had to move fast and find a place to hide, so he quickly glanced around. The first thing that caught his eye was the passageway to the backroom, but he would have to go past the owner herself, so the idea ended up in the garbage bin immediately. There was still the mysterious door between the bookshelves, and he immediately went for it.
- Where do you think you're going? - asked Vera.
Her tone was as sharp as a knife.
He ignored it, and with a few long steps reached the door to then open it and revealed complete darkness hidden behind it. He stepped in, closing behind himself.
- Come back he… - the woman squeezed through her teeth.
At the same moment, the bell hanging above the entrance rang, and Joe panting heavily got inside. Miss Kovalyova's face changed immediately, and a fake wide smile covered her fury like a mask.
- How can I help you? - she asked.
- A boy… I'm looking uh… for a boy – Joe, a bit confused, managed to form and spell some words.
His anger was gone, just like that. He barely knew the owner and this fact had a big impact on his behavior.
- I'm afraid it's just me – said the owner. - So if you don't want to buy anything.
- No! I'm sure he… He has to be here! I… I'll buy a book. Can I just look around?
Vera rolled her eyes and gestured with her hand giving him a green light.
Meanwhile, Trevor took a slow and careful step further into the darkness. His eyes started to slowly adjust to the lack of light, and with just a bit of it coming through a gap between the door behind him, and the floor, he was able to see a faint outline of a bed ahead of him. There were also some sharp edges of more furniture but mostly swallowed by the shadows.
With the sound of footsteps from to room behind him, and the creaking of the wooden floor, Trevor felt more and more on the edge, that's why he moved forward. He couldn't help but repeat in his head: „I need to hide." „I need To hide." Having to fight with his own body to hold his breath when his heart was going crazy inside his chest was only making the situation worse.
That's why he decided to crawl under the bed. Making sure to move silently but as fast as possible, he got on all fours and squeezed under the piece of furniture for cover, keeping the skateboard still in his grasp. As he was doing this, he felt something strange. The floor slightly gave in under his weight, making him immediately think that there was something hidden under the rug.
He moved again to apply the pressure, and just like before the floor gave in a bit. There was no mistake, there was something hidden right under him.
The discovery for a moment took his attention off the danger and placed it on the mystery, but footsteps from the other side got closer, and the fear returned. He stopped breathing to not make any noise. An obvious overkill in such a situation, but the panic got the better of him.
Fortunately, a moment later whoever was responsible for the noise, left.
Trevor swallowed his spit. His throat was completely dry from all the running, so the whole process was quite uncomfortable. Another moment passed.
With the immediate danger gone, he had some time to collect his thoughts and analyze the situation. He was trapped in a bookstore with an owner who hated him, and a bully who wanted revenge, which could be classified as 'not the best.
„What if they are waiting for me to come out, laughing secretly", He thought to himself. „What if the silence is a trap?"
And then the focus of his entire life during the past few months returned. He was in a bookstore, which he used many times, trying to get to the legendary 'Grand Library', laying on a potential mysterious trapdoor. His imagination didn't need more fuel to go wild. He immediately started to justify what he was about to do inside his head.
„I'm trapped here with two people who are not on my side. I should look for a different way out."
„I just have to. There is no other way."
„I know it's bad to roam around somebody's property without being invited, but I have no other choice."
He crawled from under the bed making as little noise as he could. Then holding his breath again, he put his skateboard on the bed and slowly pushed it to the side, stopping with even the slightest sound. Eventually, the piece of furniture was out of the way, so he could focus on rolling out the carpet, to reveal indeed a trapdoor.
„Holy shit", A thought struck him.
The excitement was growing inside him. He could feel the butterflies inside his stomach. That was it, a passageway to his destiny. Still closed though.
He got on all fours and started looking for a handle, which he managed to locate after a moment. Then he pulled. It gave out pretty easily, and without any sound, revealed even thicker darkness underneath. From that complete void was sticking out a ladder. He barely noticed it, but after reaching with his hand, managed to confirm it really existed.
He quickly grabbed his skateboard and went down without thinking much, but after getting only a few steps down, he reached with his hands to check what was around since he couldn't see anything and had this strange feeling of being trapped. He reached out, which wasn't easy, since he was still holding the skateboard, despite going down the ladder. His fingertips quickly touched something cold and very hard, with an uneven surface. He was inside quite a narrow shaft going straight down, with no idea of how deep it really was.
Fear started to climb up his spine yet again, but Trevor was not going to give in. He took a deep breath and continued going further, eventually reaching the bottom. The shaft was much deeper than he thought originally, which crossed out the possibility of it being just some strange basement.
He found himself in a very narrow space, which was mostly occupied by the ladder. By stretching his hands again, he quickly found something new. A smooth, but cold surface, which was definitely some kind of metal. It was covering a lot of space, which led to him thinking it was some kind of door. A moment later he even found the handle.
There was nothing else left, but to push it open.