“You’re protecting them,” I said.
“I guess so,” Nathaniel shrugged. “But I’m also doing it for myself. What good am I if not the best?”
I swallowed hard. That sounded an awful lot like the question circling around my own head. Perhaps Nathaniel and I were not so different after all.
Biting my lip hard enough to draw blood, I glanced toward the unopened doors and released a frustrated sigh. “Can we call security again?”
“I’ll try, but they haven’t been answering,” Nathaniel sighed.
I nodded, waiting patiently as he found the number and called it, his previous words replaying in my head. Guilt ensnared me. I'd treated him like the enemy, but he was just like me, a young man striving for success.
“No one is answering,” he said, the slight narrowing of his eyes the only sign of his frustration. "God, they're absolutely useless."
I stood up and began pacing, trying to think of a way out of this situation. It was getting late and…my heart stopped.
Auden.
I pulled out my phone, a string of curse words rolling off my tongue at the flat battery. With no charger, I had no way to contact Auden and explain where I was.
“My phone is dead,” I said in between curses. “We need to get out of here. There must be some alarm we can set off or something.”
Nathaniel pursed his lips. “Maybe a fire alarm? You go look for it, I’ll keep trying security’s number.”
With a nod, I hurried off in search of the fire alarm, the darkened library creating monsters out of bookcases. They towered on either side of me, whispering amongst themselves as I felt their wooden frames for guidance.
You forgot about Auden,the Devil whispered,what kind of brother are you?
I didn’t answer, though that same question had speared through my chest moments earlier. I prayed Auden was okay and that he would forgive me for my unexplained disappearance. I had to get to him. And soon.
“Why did you abandon me, Guses?” a voice called out. “Why did you leave me all alone? Like Mumma did.”
I slowed to a halt, the air torn from my lungs. “Auden...?”
“You’re just like Mumma. Just like Mumma. Just like Mumma.”
Bookshelves stretched toward me, inching closer as I turned to face my brother, dark eyes locking with mine. Only it wasn’t Auden. It was the Devil, smiling from ear-to-ear, sharp teeth drenched in blood. Snakes slithered at his feet, hissing, forked tongues flicking wildly. Spiders poured from his eyeless sockets, his nose, his widening mouth.
I backed away.
The Devil followed.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
To remind you,the Devil’s voice growled inside my head.
“Remind me of what?”
Of who you are.
Shaking my head, I blinked away the grinning Devil wearing mine and Auden’s distorted face, turning back around to resume my search.
I found the emergency exit and activated the fire alarm, the library erupting in a loud siren that burst my eardrums. Covering my ears, I sprinted back toward Nathaniel who waited by the door.
Security were there minutes later, unlocking the door to release us and turn off the alarm. We were questioned briefly, and once Nathaniel explained the situation, we were released.
“Let me drive you home,” Nathaniel offered.
“It’s fine, I’ll find my own way,” I mumbled, distracted.
