Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part IX, Deidre's Warning

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part IX, 
Deidre's Warning

~ Continued from Part VIII ~

Alan fought to open his eyes.  He was warm and comfortable and sedated within ease.  He felt as though his brain were wrapped tight in a thick comforter.  There was a warm and gentle pressure against his palm.  He woke to someone holding his hand.  When he finally got his eyes to open he struggled to focus on the figure at his side.  It was Deidre.  He squinted into wakefulness and offered a weak smile.  Deidre smiled back.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself."  She leaned in closer and rested her other hand on his forearm.  They sat silently for a moment and enjoyed a quiet reunion.  They both tried to hold back, but soon there were tears.  They held on to each other in the silence for a long while.

"I came as quickly as I could."  Her eyes were glassy.  He could tell she had not slept in some time.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part VIII, The Blue Chasm

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part VIII,
The Blue Chasm

~ Continued from Part VII ~

The large truck careened toward Alan.  It crushed the bookshelves and scattered books into the air as it plowed forward.  The edge of a shelf hit one of the smaller jellyfish and the thing exploded in a burst of slimy luminescence.  He turned quickly and pushed hard with his legs.  The last thing he saw as he leapt away was the creature entwined with Tim's body pressed flat against the truck's front end.  He jumped.
 

The world twisted around him and a lightning bolt of pain shot up his leg.  The library became a blur as Alan was tossed about.  He landed hard against a shelf and it fell to the ground.  The truck front flattened against the wall with a metallic grinding thud.  There was a bright flash of bluish light and the entire building shook violently.

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part VII, The Rune of Banishment

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part VII, 
The Rune of Banishment 

~ Continued from Part VI ~

Alan quickly stacked the books again in the circle formation Tim had originally created.  The things behind the wall had begun emitting a sickening blue light that vibrated like the light from the jellyfish creatures but it gave him more than enough illumination to find Die Tür Des Bösen amongst the scattered volumes.  He frantically flipped the pages until he found the illustration with the banishing rune.  To draw the rune, Alan chose a spot on the wall adjacent to the bulging shapes.  He ran over the banishing ritual in his head adding the name of the rune, Eisott Mudulica.  He took a deep breath.

Just then the wall beside him bowed out about two feet.  It pulsed barely inches from from his face.  Thick drops of jelly dripped from it.  Alan's breath came in sharp short gasps.  As the wall stretched thin he could see a massive shape beyond , another creature like the others, but as large as a truck.  It pushed hard against the skin of the wall, but luckily the barrier held.  The monstrous shape on the other side retracted and the wall fell back into place.  However, the skin of the wall sagged slightly this time, like an empty balloon.

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part VI, Towards the Circle

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part VI, Towards the Circle

~ Continued from Part V ~

Alan crawled slowly towards the corner.  He held on tightly to the copy of Die Tür Des Bösen with his good hand and angled the wrist of his wounded hand to keep from putting too much pressure on it.  It had swollen up in an ugly way, the fingers grown to twice their size.  Luckily the intense pain had faded into a dull throb.  Small favors, he thought.  In short hobbled movements, he slithered towards the corner.

From what Alan could see in the dim light, most of circle that Tim had created was still intact.  One of the piles closest to him had been knocked over when Tim rushed from the circle.  The books had not scattered but merely lay down like a sliced loaf of bread.  They could easily be stacked again in their original positions.  He would need them to be as exact as possible to attune the energies so that he might close the gate Tim had opened, if he could close it at all.  He clung to that hope as he crawled, eying the shapes that moved beneath the skin of the walls.

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part V, Illumination

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Merrimon Library:
Part V, Illumination

~ Continued from Part IV ~

Alan sat for several long moments with his back against one of the bookshelves for support.  He slumped to a sitting position and watched the jellyfish creatures, trying not to look at Tim.  The vibrating light from the creatures pulsed in a slow rhythm, casting odd patterns on the walls.  The fearsome shapes that Alan had seen earlier beyond the egg were appearing now on the wall above where the circle had been.  He watched as massive shapes slithered beneath the surface of the wall.  His throat closed up with rising panic.   He took deep slow breaths to quiet the quivering fear within him.

When Alan had moved out of range of the creatures he realized that he still clutched the copy of Die Tür Des Bösen in his good hand.  Alan scoured the book.  He struggled to see in the momentary flashes from passing cars, but could not read in the quickly fading light.  The sleet ticked against the window incessantly, rising and falling with the wind. 

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part IV, From Beyond the Gate

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part IV, From Beyond the Gate

~ Continued from Part III ~

Alan put his hands under Tim's arms and dragged him away from the circle as quickly as possible.  With the only light coming from the windows now, the corner had become an abyss of pitch.  Through the windows, Alan could see that the buildings across the street were dark as well.  Only passing car headlights and the darkening grey sky offered any illumination.

"Get up Tim!  C'mon Timothy, You've got to get on your feet!  We've got to get out of here!"  Tim managed to get his feet beneath him and he and Alan rushed towards the table.  Nonetheless, Alan kept hold of one arm to support him.

Alan had begun sweating profusely.  He knew that this was only the beginning and if he could not get he and Tim back to his house and within the arcane protections surrounding it, they were both in mortal danger.  First, though, they had to get out of the building.  

As they reached the table, Alan made sure Tim could stand on his own and grabbed his backpack.  He directed Tim to his own jacket and kept his eye on the dark passage to the restrooms for any sign of movement.  From the pack, he procured the book Tim had been reading earlier, Die Tür Des Bösen.  He hoped he could find some indication of what Tim had been exposed to that could lead him to devising some form of defense.

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part III, The Ritual

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Merrimon Library:
Part III, The Ritual

~ Continued from Part II ~

 
Alan sat and returned to copying his notes.  He quickly went through several pages, glancing up sporadically to watch Tim's reactions as he was reading.  Timothy sat with his legs crossed and the thick volume cradled in his lap.  He had taken off his coat and draped it across the back of the chair.  Alan took a secret pleasure in watching his friend as the sequence of realization and understanding played across his features.

At first Tim's eyes darted plainly back and forth as he read with a veiled disdain.  As he continued to read, a squinting confusion settled upon him.  His eyebrows furrowed together.  Slowly that confusion blossomed into a genuine interest and his page turning increased.  His eyes grew narrow with focus and intent.  Alan focused on his own work for awhile and copied several more pages of notes before looking up again.

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part II, Timothy Wallace

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part II, Timothy Wallace

~ Continued from Part I ~

"Alan?!  Oh wow, I didn't recognize you with the beard."  Timothy moved over to Alan's table.  Alan rose and gave him a generous hug.  "It's been -"

"Years.  Yeah.  Not since Austrum.  Good to see you!  What are you doing now?"

"Working for my Dad, property management and sales."  He pulled his name tag out of his jacket pocket and flashed it, Wallace properties.  "I was just over at the Register of Deeds doing a title search for a client.  Glad they connected all this."  Seven years ago, the Colby county offices and Register of Deeds had been relocated beside the Historical Merrimon Library and Museum.  Both buildings were conjoined by several interconnected walkways and pedestrian bridges.  At the time, Alan had disliked the increase in traffic, but had since enjoyed the convenience on occasion.

"Yeah.  It's become a bit of a crossroads."

Featured Creature: Reunion at the Merrimon Library Part I, Alan's Research

In light of my delay getting this one posted, I'm going to do a little something different this week.  In addition to the actual Featured Creature piece, I've created four other mood and setting pieces to go along with this story.  This way I can hold onto the creature reveal until the last possible post and in the meantime you get story and images at regular intervals.  I hope you enjoy the additional pieces.  On with the show!

Reunion at the 

Merrimon Library:
Part I, Alan's Research

Alan stood and stretched his arms high over his head then left and right in turn.  He had been sitting in the library for most of the day and his back had begun to hurt.  He moved away from the table and his stacks of books, papers, and notebooks.  Looking out the large windows facing Merrimon Avenue, he continued to stretch.  The sky had grown overcast in the last hour.  In the grey light, a couple of cars moved languidly down the street like giant dull colored beetles.