The Snazzy Section of the Library

After Dark

Year 2105

The 15 year old girl walked down the main street of New York City. The Airways so full you could barely see the muggy, crimson skies of sunset. Thank goodness thought Ava. She wasn't in the mood to hear all the noise of traffic or deal with a lot of people right now, though she was rather bitter about not being able to see the deep purple and red skies. Classic Rock, blared in her ears as she wandered through the city, glowering at everything that looked at her.

She recently had a fight with her stepmom, who thinks she’s the queen of everything because she used to be an actress, and got to meet all these really famous people--no one has ever even heard of her. Ava already felt like she has never been loved because she was adopted to begin with. Her own mother didn’t want her, her adoptive dad said he loved her but she often times felt ignored. Ava really didn’t need to deal with a woman who demanded respect when she definitely didn’t deserve it. She also had to deal with two irritating step sisters who were twins, which made it even more irritable. All they did was judge her ripped jeans that had ink marks all over them, and criticized her music taste.

Few cars drove the city streets, people shuffled in and out of the stores along the street. It was dark now, street lamps were flickering on and off, most light coming from the signs and ads all over the place.

“AAAAAAAHHH!!” a blood curdling scream was heard when Ava turned the corner. She turned around quickly to see what was going on only to find a grotesque creature standing in front of her. Ava shrieked in fright and tried to escape, but she was to slow. The next thing she knew, she was trying to the keep the shadow-like creature from ripping her face off with its dagger-like teeth. In the struggle, time seemed to slow down. Ava looked around to see similar monsters melting off of walls and rising from the dark pavement.

She looked back up at the thing that was about to peel her face off, and decided it was hopeless. Really, I have no point for going on….and there is no way I’m going to win this. So really what’s the point, she thought as she loosened her hold. Just when she was going to let the shadow have the victory of her head, a figure tackled it off her. In the process of being knocked off the shadow on top of her lashed out and cut her right eye with it’s gnarled claws that were as long as her own arm. Ava looked at what had knocked the thing off of her. Blood drained from her face when she realized that an older man saved her.

“GO! RUN!” the man barked as he wrestled with the beast “RUN!” Ava scrabbled up still in slight shock that a stranger would risk his own life for her. She found it hard to believe that someone could actually care enough to risk their own life, when she was in the equation.

Ava ran, trying her best to block out chaos that broke out around her. All she wanted to do right now was go home, no matter how must up it was. She felt the adrenaline rush through her body as she ran, giving her energy to keep running at this speed. There was so much reeling through her head, yet nothing was at the same time. She decided to focus on her running, thinking that she would need to after the adrenaline wore off. She turned the corner onto the street where her house stood. Only to find that all the buildings were bright red and orange, being devoured by fire.

* * * * * * * * *
Year 2112

Ava stared out her new apartment on the 5th level of the building complex. Turning her head to get the full view from her left eye. Her thin, stringy, blond hair was tied in a tight ponytail to keep it out of her eye patch. Finally. A quiet space to call my own. Ava had miraculously got out of her jobless and homeless way of life and managed to get a simple job and a small flat. She had yet to get furniture, but it was home to her. A some what burnt bicycle hung on the wall near the door, the only thing she could find that wasn’t burnt to a crisp and was still in working order from the rubble of the cold building she once lived in. Ava stared out to the area where the creatures came for the first time, seven years ago. It wasn’t really hard to find seeing that most of the area was cut off from the public and had this giant, black dome surrounding it. She would sometimes close her working eye and recall the day she was attacked. The day she saw her house burnt down while hearing the screaming and wailing of a family who didn’t care for her. That day was so heavily branded into her brain she even remembered what she ate for breakfast, and the every conversation she had.

It was morning. The sun was already climbing the sky, most of the window covers were raised. The streets were already full of people, that seemed to be the only way most people got around. People either upgraded their car for the AirWays, which is expensive or you get rid of it. Not everyone had carports to keep their cars safe from the creatures, and to build more companies needs the material from cars seeing that most of the natural resources have been used up, so the economy everywhere has been going done. Resources to keep us safe have been getting more and more expensive or even gone.

It was a lot brighter now. When you looked down at the streets it was a sea of people, just milling around, buying fruits and food from markets on the sidewalks. Ava was now sitting on the ground looking out the window with a mug of coffee in her hands. Last night she had the most vivid and terrifying dream. This time she saw the man that saved her being torn apart limb from limb. Ever since that night she had regretted never going back and helping the man. The one person that has ever shown her kindness, and she just ran…..with even saying a thank you. Ava got up, it was time for to go to her job. It was a simple job but it was a job, all she had to do was clock in and start stripping wire. These types of jobs were everywhere, people need more metal so they just stop manufacturing wires, and people also started grabbing the wires with coverings and started a job to start stripping them.
Ava grabbed all the trash she collected while cleaning yesterday and carried them outside. -There you go you horrible monsters- she thought angrily -hope you like trash- The only good thing that has come from the creatures showing up was that they kept the streets clean. You could put any garbage out and the next morning it won’t be there. Actually anything that has not been bolted down to the ground was gone the morning after the creatures appeared. A sad thing was that most homeless people were missing as well. After a week or so buildings would open for the homeless so they actually had a place to be safe to stay at during the night until they got a more permanent residence.

Ava walked briskly down the street, out of the corner of her eye she saw little kids gawking  at her, pointing at her face. Her scar across her right eye started to itch a bit. The corners of it peeking out the top and bottom of the black eye patch hiding the jagged pink line. She just ignored them and continued walking through the crowd. She got to the subway and went to her the building where she stripped the wire.

It was the end of the day, Ava had to work over time seeing that half of the workers quit. She thought it would be a smart idea to work longer that day, but she lost track of time. She looked out side. It was sunset. CRAP! Ava jumped up and ran out the room she was working in. I still have time to get home! Ava ran for the subway. Barely anyone was out so it was a lot easier to get to the train. She got on. The train sped down the track. As soon as the door was big enough to fit through Ava bolted out and up to the sidewalk to get to the apartment building where she lives. It was dusk now, it was getting pretty dark, the sky was a dark greyish blue color. Ava broke out to a full sprint, adrenaline starting to flow out of urgency. It was the same feeling when she was a 15 year old girl that got attacked. She could feel a sticky warmth spread across her scar on her eye, in memory of what it felt like when it was freshly cut.

She got to the building, slamming into the door. She gripped the handle, and pulled. It was locked. She pulled again more urgently, out of pure hysteria. She even started banging out the door, but then stopped knowing that there was no use. The doors on all buildings were locked mechanically by a timer and would be unlocked by the timer. They have it this way so that no one can open it from the outside or the inside, this was to prevent suicide by walking out at night and being destroyed by the monstrous creatures.
Ava sank down to the ground, leaning against the door, and pulled her legs up to her chest. She started to cry out of sheer despair and disappointment. But only in herself…. ever since that night, back in 2105 she swore to herself that she would only die of old age, as a way to make sure that the man that saved her didn’t die in vain.

She sat there with her face buried in her legs, her cheeks red from the tears. She looked up to see the monsters roaming around, touching everything that was left out. Ava gasped and help her breath. She felt like a statue, and was pretty sure that if there was any onlookers they would mistake her as a statue. She heard something approaching from her left. She turned to see what it was, despair growing in stomach. The shadow like being sluggishly approached, Ava despising each step it took as it slowly got closer. It finally reached her, stopping right in front of her. Ava’s eyes were big with fright, she gripped her legs even tighter for the illusion of comfort. The creature bent down, it’s no featured face was inches away from Ava’s nose.It was acting like it was deciding how it would kill her. Ava stared at it’s black hole of a face, going a bit light headed for holding her breath for so long.  After a few short seconds, which felt like years for Ava, the thing pulled away and continued to sluggishly move down the street.

Ava let go of the air inside her with a big sigh, gasping for breath, What just happened?, she looked at the shadow as it creeped away until it was out of sight. Did it think I was dead? she thought, she got up, leaning on the door for support, her head was still a bit light headed, and her knees were shaky. She got up to see her reflection in the big window’s of the building she was trying to get in earlier. She was as pale as a ghost, her stringy blond hair made her look sickly, but the thing that made Ava shocked was the black, void like substance that was coming out of her eye patch. She ripped the patch covering the scar off her head, underneath horrified her. The scar that was left from the claws of a creature was making half her face a shadow just like the creatures.

She stood there frozen in shock and horror. She was sure this was the first time this had ever happened, but then again she’s usually asleep at this time. She wondered if this was like the creatures. It only appears at night, and is gone when the sun is up. She finally came to that conclusion. She pulled herself away from the reflection, her hand on the left side of her face. It still felt like there was matter there, only….it was cold, and if she pressed on it, it was as if it turned to mist. She looked around seeing if she could find any other creatures. She jogged over to the first one she saw, which was across the street. This one looking and moving completely different than the one she just encountered, was leaning over a pile of trash. Ava stood to the side to see what it was going to do. The thing bent down to grab the pile it seemed, but it just placed a hand on it pushing down the pile till it was flattened on the pavement. It held it’s hand there for awhile, but the blackness started to seep out of it’s hand and move about the trash. Once it got to a certain amount on the pile, the creature removed it’s hand and watched as the void substance morphed and bubbled, then formed into another creature. Ava stood there amazed. She started at the new creature, as it stood up, and hobbled away, it was about the same size as the pile of garbage but seemed to be growing in size each time it “eat” something. Actually it just seemed to be walking and what ever was close enough just gravitated toward it and disappeared into its featureless figure, like a small black hole…..Ava turned back to the creature that turned the pile of trash into another creature. She walked up to it slowly, like you would a startled horse. It turned toward her, making it obvious that it sensed she was there. Again, it just stared at her, like it was deciding if it should attack…..like it was figuring out if she was one of them….The thing eventually turned away and lumbered off, deeper into town.

The rest of the night Ava wondered around. learning more about the creatures that have been a burden on society for 7 years. She noticed that the creatures began to go into alleyways, but not come out. She followed one in, but once she turned the corner it was gone. She looked around finding no trace of where it went. Ava glanced up to sky. It was starting to brighten, the sun was rising. She jogged back to the apartment building. She tried the door and it opened with ease, Ava was relived. She bolted inside, making sure the door closed and went up the stairs. She found an empty note book and jotted down everything she had learned that night. She eventually fell on to the mattress on the floor.

She woke up to the sound of her alarm, telling her to wake up, and get ready for work, Heh, screw work. I’m sleeping in. The hit the snooze button, then 5 minutes later it went off, waking her again. She turned it off this time, grabbing the phone that was next to the alarm. She called in sick to her work and set an alarm for 12 o’clock.

When the alarm went off, Ava got up out of bed and got ready for the day. She was going to go investigate about the automatic locks. She grabbed the notebook that she put the information about the creatures into and walked out the door. She headed to the building managers office.