Young Writers Society

Bo glanced back at Carter. He was standing there with his shoulders slumped and he was just... sobbing. For no reason. Well, Bo was sure there was a reason, but he didn't really want to know what at this point in time.

Bo laughed nervously. "Sorry. Uh. Yeah, what she said," he said with a gesture to Queenie. "But anyway, so sorry to bother you, but I just had a quick question. You wouldn't happen to know a Jay Whitman by any chance, would you? About yea high, brown hair, blue eyes, bit on the skinnier side?"


Carter wasn’t sure why he was crying, but it took a good minute for him to actually register what Claire had said. The tears turned off like a tap and he looked over to Claire with a frown.

“We met back with your daughter Amy. You had a bad mood then too.”

"What are you talking about?" Claire said. "I don't have a daughter."

There seemed to some kind of scene going across the street with the tour guide and the man's friends, but Alex ignored it for now.

"I'm sorry," Alex said, "I don't know anyone by that name." She wanted to walk away, but the man was over a head taller than her. He could easily overpower her and Carolyn and she didn't want to make one wrong move.

“Well you used to,” Carter said insistently. “Redhead. Amy. Thought me and Skull were a couple, not like he’s my type anyway, but I was wearing a god-awful outfit back then. The Librarian has poor taste. You don’t have any kids now, do you?”



Bo didn’t know if this was working. If Jay’s name didn’t ring any bells, Bo wasn’t sure if this version of Alex would remember anything. His smile faltered and he laughed awkwardly.

“Oh. Well, now I’m embarrassed. Jay’s an old - uh - friend of mine and you look a lot like someone he knew - and now I feel weird for asking. Sorry again! Uh, bye!” He waved, and quickly turned around to face Skull and the others.

That didn’t go well.

"That's what I just said," Claire said. She scoffed. "Well, I'm going to tell my boss to blacklist you. As if you'd want to pay for this tour again. Just... don't come near me." She decided not to acknowledge anything else the man had said because she frankly couldn't follow any of it.

That was when she saw the woman and her friend and the kid across the street, and it looked like they were uncomfortable.

"Hey!" Claire shouted. "Anyone ever tell you to leave women alone when they don't want to talk?"

Kirux wasn't really sure what was going on.

Everything was happening so fast. Queenie was a bad guy. Kirux didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that - he knew Riku had done bad things before, long before his heart fell to darkness, but Kirux didn't think Riku killed anyone. Riku wouldn't do that.

And Skull was angry. Skull hadn't really been angry the last time they had met. He had just been frustrated like Winnie was whenever she couldn't solve a problem on her homework. The librarian everyone kept talking was like the mean queen that had kidnapped Kirux and Skull and Megara and Fidel before. And like the mean conductor, too. But Skull hadn't ever gotten angry at the queen; he had just gotten kind of mean.

This entire situation made Kirux feel wrong and uncomfortable. He understood what the nice tour guide was feeling - people always thought he was Riku and tried to talk to him like he was, even though he didn't have any of his heart's memories. He wished Carter wasn't so mean - he didn't think the tour guide wanted to keep talking about it.

But then Bo went to talk to Alex, and Alex didn't seem to remember him still, either, from how upset she looked. He wished he could comfort her. He wanted to give her a big hug. But he knew that if Bo was scary, he'd be scary, too. Riku was big. He was taller than a lot of Kirux's friends, and had lots of muscles too. And Kirux's eyes were funny colors; no one really liked his golden eye besides Thear and Winnie.

But then the tour guide started yelling at Bo.

Skull, who had been silent for awhile, looked frustrated again. He said a word that Kirux was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to say - even though Winnie had never said to not use that word - but didn't move to stop the tour guide from yelling or to make Bo feel better.

He frantically glanced between Bo and the tour guide.

Torn between going to either one of them, he finally settled on talking to the tour guide. He pulled his notebook out and hurriedly wrote out a messy message to her.

"He didn't want to make Alex upset!" his message read. "He just wanted to see if she remembered him. But she didn't, so he's going now! He's not bad!"

He tapped the tour guide on the shoulder and held the notebook up so she could read it.

Queenie backed away from the group. Julian was the only one who noticed, and he made a grab for her hand, but she was too quick. Before he could say a word, she vanished into the crowd.

It wasn't hard. There were a lot of people and Julian was the only one trying to keep track of her. No one else there would give a damn. Skull will probably be glad I'm gone.

She was going to get to somewhere less crowded, get a moment to think. She had to somehow force the Librarian to just take her back. Get her back home and leave this whole nightmare behind.

She glanced behind her, watching Julian's frantic surveying of the crowd.

When she turned away, though, she wasn't in the bustling throng of people anymore. The scent of cinnamon hit her first as she blinked in the dimmed candle light.

"Oh, fuck off," she said to the librarian.



Panic gripped Julian as he lost track of Queenie. How could he lose her with all of that brilliant hair? It seemed impossible. She was so...noticable. So why couldn't he find her?

After a few moments of looking, he turned back to the others, interrupting whatever conversation they were having, "Queenie's missing!"

"Come on Carolyn," Alex said. "Let's go back."

She waved to the tour guide woman who'd rescued them across the street. She couldn't shake the feeling she'd met the redheaded woman with the Liverpudlian accent before, though she didn't know how that was possible.

Claire smiled when she saw Kirux's note. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've had a long day." She gave him a smile and walked to her car, exhausted.

--

"You idiot," The librarian said to Queenie. "You weren't supposed to actually do it. Haven't you ever seen a time travel movie?" She smirked. "Don't worry, you're going to stay until you fix this."

The room was only lit by the candlelight, and the sound of grasshoppers chirped from outside. Of course, they weren't really in the countryside. They were between realms.

Eons ago, the Librarian had been tasked with being one of the arbiters of the afterlife. Essentially, she was tasked with managing people who were on the verge of ending up either in one level or another and engaging them in moral dilemmas. The last group she'd tasked to stop JFK's assassination. And when she found out Esther was on the verge of heaven and purgatory? It was too good to pass up.

She'd thought these dolts would at least know to not kill baby Jay, especially with Esther right there. Sure, it mean that Margaret and her friends could live and Alex and the others would have a better life, but people would die and suffer in the universe no matter what. Humans wouldn't be humans without it. Their first entry into the library had been a test. And they'd failed.

So here they were again and the Librarian would be in trouble if she didn't set things straight soon.

Before Queenie could respond, the Librarian summoned the others there. Carter and Skull beside Queenie. Alex replaced Esther. Mary and Julian were calming presences for the others. Kirux and Bo because they knew Alex, no thanks to the recent hijinx of two of her employees.

The single large candle illuminating the room would smell differently to everyone.

"Welcome to the library," The Librarian said to the group. She pointed to Queenie and Carter. "The reason you are all here is because of those two."

Mary and Alex were both very confused and offput. What had happened to Carolyn and Juliet? Where were they? How did they get there. Still, the smell of the beach, of sand and ocean and tropical flowers, was sweet and intoxicating for Alex. For Mary, it was the smell of sugar cookies.

Both women waited for others to explain things.

Queenie crossed her arms and opened her mouth the respond when Julian but her off.

"What the hell were you thinking!" he snapped.

She flinched, stepping away from him in surprise. In the process, she bumped into Carter. She shot him a glare, Keep your fucking mouth shut.

"You can't just leave like that!"

Her expression shifted from surprise to annoyance. She'd never been annoyed with Julian before, but right now giving him a hard smack on the back of the head seemed like a very tempting idea.

"There are more important things to deal with," she said, letting her souring mood show in her tone, "Like how this bitch-" she gestured to the Librarian, "-decided to kidnap the lot of us to play a little moral mind game." She was talking to the others now, the newcomers, specifically, "I'm sick of the games. We were tossed through time, and last time she gave us a gun and told us to kill the leader of some creepy cult in order to get home. I do deeply apologize for the moral dilemma you all were having about the whole ordeal, but I, for one, much prefer the thought of getting home, safe, to the idea of staying a fucking sock puppet to this bitch over here while a murderous cult leader gets to grow up and ruin lives."

She was leaving things out, but nothing she said was technically untrue. Maybe, if given more time to think, she might have come across the same moral argument the others had. Probably not, though. She had to get home, and that guy's wasted life wasn't more important than that.

"Queenie Ringly," The Librarian said, meeting her gaze to Queenie's. She was tired of the way this brat was acting and was very tempted to send her to the gates of hell, but she was very young. Young in earth years, and a flash in the grand scheme of the universe. "I did not choose you Skull or Carter or Ms. Altman. You got thrown in my lap. I chose the scenario, but not you. Your friends get to come along because you failed my test. Did you really think that violence, that murdering a child, would solve more violence?"

She continued.

"I think you're much a more kind and more compassionate person than you want to let on." She turned to Julian. "Just ask him."

Oh, this was the last straw.

I turned to Queenie.

"Did you ever think that maybe there was something good about the cult?" I asked. "That maybe, just maybe, Esther's life was worth more than Jay's?"

I already knew the answer to that question. It was stupid to think that arguing with Queenie was going to make her realize just how bad her decision had been - she wasn't going to suddenly regret killing Esther.

I looked over at the librarian. A small - very small - part of me knew I had to at least admit that Queenie didn't have a lot of other choices besides pulling the trigger. The librarian hadn't made things easy for any of us.

"So what?" I said. "Was this some kind of test? Was Esther's lives - and the lives of every other kid that Jay had - just a joke to you? You might not have picked us, but you picked what happened."

I crossed my arms.

"...I think I know why you took away my powers," I said. "It's because you know I'd use them on you right now, and that you wouldn't stand a chance if I did."

That was a major bluff, but it was one that felt good to make - right up until I saw how upset Kirux was looking right now. He looked like a kid whose parents were arguing when he was still in the room, eyes wide and filled with tears. I gave the librarian a scathing look - forcing Kirux to deal with this was strike two. He had already been dragged into something like this one too many times.

Carter wasn't sure if what he was seeing was the drugs or the gods-awful reality-bending powers of the librarian at work. The moment the scene changed, he wobbled on his feet, barely keeping himself from leaning onto Queenie for support as she stood beside her. He knew better than to lean on her, even though he was high as a kite.

His head swirled like slow-moving molasses and honey, and as he stared at the librarian's face her face seemed to swirl and morph into something hideously horrifying. Sunken, melting, and soulless. He stared, eyes fixated on the sight. It was both terrible and fascinating and he could not look away.

The smell of lavender and fresh wildflowers filled the room like a heavenly perfume, and he knew it had to come from the giant flaming candle that lit the room in a low glow of light. As he took in a deep breath, the aroma seemed to fill his lungs and he felt full.

The Librarian was acting differently now. More forthright - disappointed, actually, that they'd done what she'd asked. Huh. So it was a test. One of those stupid, stupid tests of morality that if you passed your proved yourself to be a "good person" or something. He didn't know, and he didn't want to care, but it seemed like he was being forced to, listening to Queenie whine and avoid taking direct responsibility and listening to the Librarian point fingers. Queenie was probably going to rat him out in a moment, too. She had no reason to be loyal to him anymore, not that her loyalty had been based on anything but a mutual agreement on a course of action anyway.

It seemed like this was a situation where no matter what, he would be despised and deemed untrustworthy by those around him. The only one he had anything in common with was Queenie, and she looked about ready to strangle the Librarian if given the chance.

Foolish, foolish Queenie. And Skull, who wouldn't stop moving his godsdamned mouth. Carter cast his gaze to Skull as Skull started having his hissy fit about never asking for any of this and thinking it was all a test or a joke.

So what if it was a test or a joke? The Librarian had the power. It would always be easier to take the path of least resistance: appear compliant and take what is given to you, and be angry later. The Librarian wasn't going to have a change of heart because Skull gave a little speech and some dirty looks.

Carter slouched. He was swimming in a pool of his thoughts, and Skull's head was looking very much like a Skull. Oh, the irony of hallucinations.

"Oh, shut up, Skull," he muttered, looking to the Librarian. Her face had stopped swirling, and instead her face was glowing, radiant like the sun. She was like a goddess.

"What now, would you have us do?" he asked. "What do we need to do to fix this?"


Bo stayed quiet, but put his hand on Kirux's back and pulled Kirux into his side. The room smelled like a busy kitchen - a mixture of many delicious fragrances, all flowing together and separate, somehow each one distinguished as its own.

It was weird. He felt like he was at work for just a split second, but the setting quickly told him otherwise. Still, he felt like he should have an apron and a cap over his beard.

He was still trying to piece together everything that was going on, but it seemed like he had the gist of it clear: the Librarian had brought Carter, Queenie, and Skull together and they had killed Jay as a kid, messing up history. He still didn't know the why, but he supposed that was something they would find out eventually... at least, he hoped so.

"Ms. Altman?" Alex asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

In response, the group was now in a bookstore. A bookstore that Alex knew well. It had been her high school job, the one she'd quit when she'd finally saved up enough money to leave Montana.

Why was the Librarian showing them this?

Just then, a man walked in, a very, very attractive man, and bumped into her. They got to talking. It was love at first sight?

What was this? If a man like him had ever been a customer at the bookstore, she would have remembered him.

But there was more. Her and the man kissing on a mountaintop and sharing an acid tab.

Them in a car, taking off their clothes...

God. Alex turned bright red and turned away. Even though this had never happened, it was still her. It looked so real. But he didn't even have her first kiss until she was twenty. She didn't lose her virginity until she was 24, to a dumb guy who didn't care about her. What was his name? Mark, that was it.

Some time later, the man and her weren't alone. A dark haired girl with bangs was sitting with a beautiful auburn haired woman who looked like Jackie Kennedy. Alex threw up, and she and the dark haired girl went to the hospital. Alex was pregnant.

Nine months later, she had a baby girl, who she named Esther. She barely had time to look at her daughter before they were back in the Library.

Alex was shaking. "What was that? Who was that?"

"Jay Whitman, the father of your child, the love of your life," The Librarian replied.

"I don't have a love of my life, okay? I'm focused on my career. Maybe one day, but I'm not in a rush. And none of that happened. I would have remembered.

"It did happen," The Librarian said. "Until Queenie and Carter killed him when he was a child."

Alex laughed nervously. "What?"

"They erased your daughter from existence."

Alex inhaled. She wasn't sure she wanted a child. A child who would be... what, eight years old by now? The daughter would be Juliet's age.... and Esther was always what she wanted to name a girl, if she ever had one. "There's something you're not telling me," Alex told the Librarian.

"You're right." The Librarian pointed to Mary. "She's important too."

"Why am I important?" Mary asked, even if she had a sense it had to do with her memories of Adam.

"You'll see," said the Librarian. She started to walk away, and Alex called after her. Still, before long, she was gone, and Alex stared the others.

"What now?" She asked.

Kirux leaned into Bo the moment Bo pulled him aside, comforted by the feeling of what was almost a hug. Kirux then decided that he really did want a hug - and had just given Bo a very tight one when the visions suddenly started. Kirux wondered if this was what it would be like if he ever saw Riku's memories someday - looking outside at a life that was supposed to be his but never really would be. It also kind of hurt his head, so he settled with just focusing on hugging Bo until the memories ended.

Then the mean librarian started talking again.

And Kirux, who already didn't like her that much, frowned when he heard how she was talking to Alex. Even though he was sad that Alex didn't remember him, it wasn't Alex's fault. And Alex was different now. The librarian was just going to make her confused, too, and wonder if she was the right Alex or the wrong one.

Before Kirux could stop hugging Bo and write a message to the librarian, the librarian was gone. Kirux's frown deepened. He knew that Alex didn't remember him, but he wanted to make her feel better - so he went to give her a hug. But when he was right up beside her, he remembered how she had reacted to Bo. He took a step back and felt really, really small, even though he was still Riku's height.

"That's what she said the last time around," Skull finally said, his voice soft but bitter. "With Esther. It wasn't the same exact words, but that's what she said before she let us know that we were supposed to kill Jay."

He turned to the bookshelves.

"The last time around, we just grabbed a book and were magically teleported to whatever time she wanted us to end up in," Skull said. "There's no point in even pretending like we have a choice this time around - it's just part of her little game."

Kirux flinched at his tone. It wasn't angry. And it wasn't really upset, either. It was...different. Like his heart was on the verge of falling to darkness, or like he had already fallen in. Kirux had never seen Skull like this before, and it was scary to hear him talk with a tone like that.

Bo hugged Kirux back and averted his eyes from the memories when he realized what they were seeing. They weren't his own. They weren't his to see. Even if Alex's crimes and story had been made public in one version of history, he didn't want to see all of those private moments. It felt wrong.

When the memories faded, they were back with the candle, and Bo finally realized they were in a library with lots of big shelves of books. His view of them was faint, though, given that the only light in the whole room was the candle. Sure, it was a big candle, but it was a big room. Kirux let go and turned towards Alex, looking like he was going in for a hug, but seemed to change his mind.

He looked over to Skull, noting the change in tone. Skull had gone from passionately upset to acting like he didn't care anymore, but Bo didn't think it was that simple.

"If this is a test, then maybe we're not supposed to do everything she says," Bo wondered out loud. "I mean, we'll probably have to uh, grab a book I gue--"

"Nobody touch any fucking books!" Carter shouted, pushing himself off of the library floor and pointing at no one in particular with an accusing finger. "Not until we figure out what the hell we're doing! Gods!" He brushed himself off, as if someone had pushed him over. Bo knew for a fact that no one did. Carter had just... fallen over in the midst of all the memory shifting.

Bo sighed.

"Let's make sure everyone's on the same page -" he blinked. Unintentional pun. Don't laugh. Not an appropriate time, "-before we grab a book, then?"

Alex took a deep breath, still trying to process what she had seen. She was still confused by everything the Librarian had said, and her place in this. She didn't want to ask, but she knew she had to before they travelled back in time.

"Okay, so what's the Librarian not telling me?" Alex asked. She almost regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, but it was out there now.

Meanwhile Mary watched as Carter made a fool of himself and the others decided to be on the same page, literally and figuratively, before they opened any books. She still wasn't sure how she fit into any of this, and kept quiet for now. The smell of sugar cookies was so strong she had to remind herself there weren't really cookies nearby, it was just the candle.