Post by SuibuOgami on Jun 15, 2005 22:12:31 GMT
John Carmichael walked into the book store carrying the box of musty old tomes. At twenty-two, he was tall, slim, and muscular, and owned his own book store. His short brown hair and glasses were testament to his love of books. Dust flew off them in sheets as he picked each of them up in turn and set them in the display case by the front window. Creep old things he thought as he turned away, only to come face to face with a hideous ghoul.
“Sharon!” He paused. “Something’s different about you.” He walked over to the counter and turned around. “I know; you got a new haircut.”
His pert assistant took off the mask to reveal a plain looking young girl of about 16. Her blue eyes were pure and bright and she had shoulder length, straight brown hair. Put side to side, one would think she and John were related.
“Hardy-har-har, John.” She looked at the mask. “I really thought it would work too. Mr. Garson down at the magic shop says its not really what scares people as how they’re scared. Surprise with a mask can be more frightening then jumping out of a closet screaming at the top of your lungs.”
“Most things are,” John agreed with a straight face. She stuck her tongue out at him and picked up one of the tomes out of the window.
“What’s this?”
“That’s an old tome from the library basement. Can you believe they were going to just throw it away?” he asked incredulously. “Those things are priceless and incredibly rare, especially in the condition they’re in.”
Sharon studied the book. It was leather bound, with strange runes all over the cover and down its spine. She went moved her hand to the latch holding the book closed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” John said, startling her.
“And why not?”
He leaned forward on the counter. “They say it belonged to a witch once. The leather is actually human skin and human blood was used as ink.”
Sharon tapped the cover of the book with her chrome-colored fingernails skeptically. “And the latch?”
“Carved out a femur and dyed to disguise its true nature.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, an amused glint in her eyes.
“And the runes?”
“They were carved with a sharpened leg bone.”
“Ah, that’s… pretty gruesome. And I shouldn‘t open it because…”
“-Because they say whoever looks upon the pages will be cursed forever and eternity!”
She gave him a quirky smile and plopped the book back onto the display case, walking over to the counter. Behind her the last wisps of sun disappeared behind the horizons, leaving the room in sudden darkness.
“Time to close up?” Sharon asked. John made a sound in his throat and said, “Yeah. But before you go…”
Sharon stopped in midstep out the door. Damn, almost made it too! She slowly turned around. “Yes?” she said slowly.
“I need you to finish filing all the books on the cart in the back. Once you do that, you lock up, go home and do whatever.”
“Yeah, and what about you?”
“Who me? I go home before you lock up and finish shelving books.” He dangled the keys and tossed them to her as she closed the door.
“Yes sir, right-o!” She gave a firm salute and clicked her heels together. John picked up the ruse and pulled an umbrella out of the bin next to the counter in place of riding crop. Looking up from the counter, he squared his shoulders and said in a rough voice, “Guud Pri-vate, yur dis-missed.” With that, she marched into the back and rigidly began shelving books. John stood up, sniffed noisily, and said in that same voice, “Keep up the good work. I’ll see you tomorrow at 0700 hours.” With that he walked stiffly out the door. Once outside, he laughed and looked back at the shop once before heading home. Smallville was small enough to be able to do that.
Back in the shop, Sharon laughed at herself and her playful boss. With a shake of her head, she continued shelving books.
It was completely dark outside by the time she was finished and her arms were killing her. She thumped into the dusty old couch in the back and sighed, feeling weary. Okay, now what? She thought for a moment and quirked her head. Then slowly, she looked over at the front window. The book was still there. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to look, she thought, getting up. She walked out of the back, around the counter and up to the front window and picked it up. Besides, no harm ever came out of reading a book right? She ran her hands over the worn cover and over to the lock. There was a button on top with a strange symbol on it. She pushed it and the latch flew open. She was going to open when she suddenly decided she should sit down for this. She went into the back and flopped back down on the couch, folded her legs under her and opened the book. Suddenly the entire room began shaking. Earthquake! Sharon dropped the book and huddled down on the couch, her hands over her head. On the floor, the book had fallen on the floor closed. Suddenly it flipped open of its own accord and the pages started turning with a purpose. The shaking slowly subsided and Sharon slowly looked up and around. Books scattered the floor around her. Great, this was going to take her hours to- Suddenly the book started glowing. She pushed herself up and warily walked over to it, looking at it strangely. The light was pulsing. She picked up the book and examined it. Hmm, must have batteries she thought to herself. John was going to be pissed when he finds out this thing isn’t as priceless as he thought. She moved to close the book when she noticed the page it had settle on. It was a picture of a horned demon clutching wound on it’s body. And lodged into the picture was a real bullet. Even better she thought, damaged goods. She balance the book on one hand and dislodged the bullet with the other. It came out with difficulty but when she did, the book shuddered again and she dropped it. A sudden roar was torn from the book and out came pouring a cloud of smoke. In her panicked state, the first thing Sharon thought was, “Smoke detector.” Of course she meant fire extinguisher but she can be forgiven in these circumstances. Her feet on the other hand, wouldn’t move. The smoke coalesced into the form of the demon from the page in the book, which was now empty.
“Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgha! Oh, by the Gods it feels good to get out of that book!”
The demon, who sounded remarkably like Robin Williams, began dancing around but was brought to an abrupt stop as he ran into some sort of barrier. His broad, muscle-bound shoulders slumped and he said, “Well, maybe not free, but I’m out of the book!” It was then he noticed Sharon. “And you must be the one who freed me,” he said thoughtfully. Sharon was terrified.
“Uh, I’ll call the police,” she said slowly and started backing away. But before she’d taken two steps she suddenly, with a wave of the Demon’s hand, found herself back on the couch.
“I’m grateful,” he said simply. “And because I’m grateful, I’ll give you a fighting chance.”
“What-?”
“Put simply? I’m a demon who was trapped in that book over half a century ago. I escaped once a litle less then a century ago but was put back in because someone shot me with that nasty bullet you pulled out. Now I want to leave, but the only way I can do that is if someone replaces me in the book, nd as the man who shot me isn’t here for that, my only other choice is you. But, like I said, I’m grateful, so I’ll give you a fighting chance. Following me so far?”
She nodded mutely.
“Good. So here’s the deal; I tell you a riddle. You answer correctly, I let you go free. You answer wrong, and I go free.” He stood. “I like the sound of that. I’m a genius,” he said matter-of-factly, preening himself. “And very nice, giving you a chance like this. So,” he clapped his giant hands together. “Are you ready for the riddle?”
Once again, she nodded mutely.
“Good! Here it is; What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three in the evening?”
Sharon watched as the demon had paced up and down the book store’s backroom, the sound of its giant footsteps booming off the walls. There was a demon in the book shop? She must be working too hard, she thought to herself. There was no way this could be real could it? As he said the riddle, she snapped out of it. She’d heard this one before! “Well that’s easy!” she said nonchalantly, leaning back. “Man.”
“Oh Darn! You got it! Darn darn darn!” He stomped his foot in time to his curses. He seemed to realized what he was doing and suddenly straightened up.
“But… fair is fair.” AS if it pained him, he theatrically reached for the bullet. Sharon was fine with that as long as he didn’t wreck the store. She handed it to him and suddenly regretted it as he smiled viciously. “Thank you for handing me my freedom.”
“What?!”
“The bullet. Whoever has it is in control. Bye-bye.” And with that, he picked up he book and slammed the bullet back into its hole. Sharon was screaming in terror as her body turned to smoke and was sucked into the book. He looked onto the page and saw the terror frozen on her face for all eternity of until someone else pulled the bullet out. He closed it with a snap and dropped it on the floor. Suddenly, he heard the front door open.
“Sharon! Are you all right? Sharon where are you?”
The demon smiled in the only way his kind could and his shape suddenly changed. Now standing there was not the demon but the demon in Sharon’s body. He slammed his head into the corner of a book shelf and lay on the floor, feigning unconscious as a trickle of blood fell from his/her. This world didn’t believe in demons huh? This was going to be easier then he thought.
To my readers: Helloooo all! Yes, another of my stories from creative writing unfortunately shortened so my teacher would accept it (the *****!!!). Yes, I know the riddle is old and many know the answer but weelll, I just didn't have enough time to come up with a good one. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed the book!
“Sharon!” He paused. “Something’s different about you.” He walked over to the counter and turned around. “I know; you got a new haircut.”
His pert assistant took off the mask to reveal a plain looking young girl of about 16. Her blue eyes were pure and bright and she had shoulder length, straight brown hair. Put side to side, one would think she and John were related.
“Hardy-har-har, John.” She looked at the mask. “I really thought it would work too. Mr. Garson down at the magic shop says its not really what scares people as how they’re scared. Surprise with a mask can be more frightening then jumping out of a closet screaming at the top of your lungs.”
“Most things are,” John agreed with a straight face. She stuck her tongue out at him and picked up one of the tomes out of the window.
“What’s this?”
“That’s an old tome from the library basement. Can you believe they were going to just throw it away?” he asked incredulously. “Those things are priceless and incredibly rare, especially in the condition they’re in.”
Sharon studied the book. It was leather bound, with strange runes all over the cover and down its spine. She went moved her hand to the latch holding the book closed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” John said, startling her.
“And why not?”
He leaned forward on the counter. “They say it belonged to a witch once. The leather is actually human skin and human blood was used as ink.”
Sharon tapped the cover of the book with her chrome-colored fingernails skeptically. “And the latch?”
“Carved out a femur and dyed to disguise its true nature.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, an amused glint in her eyes.
“And the runes?”
“They were carved with a sharpened leg bone.”
“Ah, that’s… pretty gruesome. And I shouldn‘t open it because…”
“-Because they say whoever looks upon the pages will be cursed forever and eternity!”
She gave him a quirky smile and plopped the book back onto the display case, walking over to the counter. Behind her the last wisps of sun disappeared behind the horizons, leaving the room in sudden darkness.
“Time to close up?” Sharon asked. John made a sound in his throat and said, “Yeah. But before you go…”
Sharon stopped in midstep out the door. Damn, almost made it too! She slowly turned around. “Yes?” she said slowly.
“I need you to finish filing all the books on the cart in the back. Once you do that, you lock up, go home and do whatever.”
“Yeah, and what about you?”
“Who me? I go home before you lock up and finish shelving books.” He dangled the keys and tossed them to her as she closed the door.
“Yes sir, right-o!” She gave a firm salute and clicked her heels together. John picked up the ruse and pulled an umbrella out of the bin next to the counter in place of riding crop. Looking up from the counter, he squared his shoulders and said in a rough voice, “Guud Pri-vate, yur dis-missed.” With that, she marched into the back and rigidly began shelving books. John stood up, sniffed noisily, and said in that same voice, “Keep up the good work. I’ll see you tomorrow at 0700 hours.” With that he walked stiffly out the door. Once outside, he laughed and looked back at the shop once before heading home. Smallville was small enough to be able to do that.
Back in the shop, Sharon laughed at herself and her playful boss. With a shake of her head, she continued shelving books.
It was completely dark outside by the time she was finished and her arms were killing her. She thumped into the dusty old couch in the back and sighed, feeling weary. Okay, now what? She thought for a moment and quirked her head. Then slowly, she looked over at the front window. The book was still there. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to look, she thought, getting up. She walked out of the back, around the counter and up to the front window and picked it up. Besides, no harm ever came out of reading a book right? She ran her hands over the worn cover and over to the lock. There was a button on top with a strange symbol on it. She pushed it and the latch flew open. She was going to open when she suddenly decided she should sit down for this. She went into the back and flopped back down on the couch, folded her legs under her and opened the book. Suddenly the entire room began shaking. Earthquake! Sharon dropped the book and huddled down on the couch, her hands over her head. On the floor, the book had fallen on the floor closed. Suddenly it flipped open of its own accord and the pages started turning with a purpose. The shaking slowly subsided and Sharon slowly looked up and around. Books scattered the floor around her. Great, this was going to take her hours to- Suddenly the book started glowing. She pushed herself up and warily walked over to it, looking at it strangely. The light was pulsing. She picked up the book and examined it. Hmm, must have batteries she thought to herself. John was going to be pissed when he finds out this thing isn’t as priceless as he thought. She moved to close the book when she noticed the page it had settle on. It was a picture of a horned demon clutching wound on it’s body. And lodged into the picture was a real bullet. Even better she thought, damaged goods. She balance the book on one hand and dislodged the bullet with the other. It came out with difficulty but when she did, the book shuddered again and she dropped it. A sudden roar was torn from the book and out came pouring a cloud of smoke. In her panicked state, the first thing Sharon thought was, “Smoke detector.” Of course she meant fire extinguisher but she can be forgiven in these circumstances. Her feet on the other hand, wouldn’t move. The smoke coalesced into the form of the demon from the page in the book, which was now empty.
“Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgha! Oh, by the Gods it feels good to get out of that book!”
The demon, who sounded remarkably like Robin Williams, began dancing around but was brought to an abrupt stop as he ran into some sort of barrier. His broad, muscle-bound shoulders slumped and he said, “Well, maybe not free, but I’m out of the book!” It was then he noticed Sharon. “And you must be the one who freed me,” he said thoughtfully. Sharon was terrified.
“Uh, I’ll call the police,” she said slowly and started backing away. But before she’d taken two steps she suddenly, with a wave of the Demon’s hand, found herself back on the couch.
“I’m grateful,” he said simply. “And because I’m grateful, I’ll give you a fighting chance.”
“What-?”
“Put simply? I’m a demon who was trapped in that book over half a century ago. I escaped once a litle less then a century ago but was put back in because someone shot me with that nasty bullet you pulled out. Now I want to leave, but the only way I can do that is if someone replaces me in the book, nd as the man who shot me isn’t here for that, my only other choice is you. But, like I said, I’m grateful, so I’ll give you a fighting chance. Following me so far?”
She nodded mutely.
“Good. So here’s the deal; I tell you a riddle. You answer correctly, I let you go free. You answer wrong, and I go free.” He stood. “I like the sound of that. I’m a genius,” he said matter-of-factly, preening himself. “And very nice, giving you a chance like this. So,” he clapped his giant hands together. “Are you ready for the riddle?”
Once again, she nodded mutely.
“Good! Here it is; What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three in the evening?”
Sharon watched as the demon had paced up and down the book store’s backroom, the sound of its giant footsteps booming off the walls. There was a demon in the book shop? She must be working too hard, she thought to herself. There was no way this could be real could it? As he said the riddle, she snapped out of it. She’d heard this one before! “Well that’s easy!” she said nonchalantly, leaning back. “Man.”
“Oh Darn! You got it! Darn darn darn!” He stomped his foot in time to his curses. He seemed to realized what he was doing and suddenly straightened up.
“But… fair is fair.” AS if it pained him, he theatrically reached for the bullet. Sharon was fine with that as long as he didn’t wreck the store. She handed it to him and suddenly regretted it as he smiled viciously. “Thank you for handing me my freedom.”
“What?!”
“The bullet. Whoever has it is in control. Bye-bye.” And with that, he picked up he book and slammed the bullet back into its hole. Sharon was screaming in terror as her body turned to smoke and was sucked into the book. He looked onto the page and saw the terror frozen on her face for all eternity of until someone else pulled the bullet out. He closed it with a snap and dropped it on the floor. Suddenly, he heard the front door open.
“Sharon! Are you all right? Sharon where are you?”
The demon smiled in the only way his kind could and his shape suddenly changed. Now standing there was not the demon but the demon in Sharon’s body. He slammed his head into the corner of a book shelf and lay on the floor, feigning unconscious as a trickle of blood fell from his/her. This world didn’t believe in demons huh? This was going to be easier then he thought.
To my readers: Helloooo all! Yes, another of my stories from creative writing unfortunately shortened so my teacher would accept it (the *****!!!). Yes, I know the riddle is old and many know the answer but weelll, I just didn't have enough time to come up with a good one. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed the book!