Sshhh!

Chapter One

She was shaken roughly, deep in her sleep in the dark a result of the soporific book she was reading a horror tale she found in a hidden corner of a shelf given to her by a librarian she hadn't seen before in the city library. The 'Weltons' library also a science laboratory. It had been titled 'Sshh' that afternoon when she read the cover. She turned her face to the left, dozing off almost immediately again.

"Damn it! Snap out of it Natalie! Wake up!"

Audrey shook her vigorously again, hands on her back. Her chest squishing on the desk as she scrubbed against the surface.

'Mm, Mmmmmh." She lifted her heavy red eyes mumbling returning to her former position asleep.

Audrey was frustrated trying to wake Natalie up. She stared at her, furious with her lousy slothful attitude. She felt like leaving her, all alone and walking away in the thick darkness but she was too scared to walk around in the dark like that especially in the unfamiliar library environment she found herself trapped in. Now trying to find her way around the narrow claustrophobic hallways of the library that looked like a maze.

She glared at her friend, Natalie again asleep.

"Sorry to do this"

She said turning Natalie's face to her direction and rendering her a loud harsh slap that sent her sprawling up from her sleep with a grumpy face in shock. Now fully awake, left chin aching from the violent slap that had turned it red and painful, she opened her eyes to gross darkness, pupils dilating to receive any available light  shade from any source. Iris rods shortening as she looked around seeing nothing but phosphene reflections from her formerly closed eyelids.

She grimaced rubbing her cheeks sheepishly about to flare up at Audrey who announced thoughtfully to her.

"We dozed off Natalie, we were locked in the city library look at the time now it's 2:35am and the city gates must have been closed!"

Audrey sounded tense and panicky as she screamed at her pointing to a glowing red clock on the wall.

Natalie was speechless her bone marrows cooling, setting off with fringy goosebumps like rashes on her skin in fright. She watched the second hand tick rapidly one could easily be hypnotized, mentally tormented by it's random constant tic toc sound in between their minute silence so loud in her head as she tried to comprehend what Audrey was saying.

Then, her eyes flew open in realization, her mouth agape in shock.

"Don't gloat at me, let's use the red glow from the clock to find a torch or something let's check for a way out of here"

Their light voices could be heard in the dark talking in mild tones at the wide centre of the library amist shelves of books.

"Do you have a torch? It's almost stark dark in here. I can't even see you clearly"

Natalie felt foolish to ask but she just spluttered out what was in her mind anyways.

Audrey wiped her face in disgust and rolled her eyes. Heaven knew how scared she was being trapped in the city not even school 'city' library by that time of the night.

"Of course I do" Audrey was ironical.
"We slept off at the library unplanned,  Natalie!"

Natalie sensed her sarcasm.

"How then ll'we see our way out?"

"I don't know let's just look around. Let's search for a torch or light switch, anything?"

Something touched her hand in the dark she found Natalie's hand and clasped it tightly in fear, partially panting.

"What was that?"
She was starting to perspirate.

"What was what?"

Natalie tried to conceal her fear.

"I mean something touched my hand"
She was looking around.

"Don't inflict fear on yourself Audrey, maybe it was the desk or your imagination we're in the library afterall there're stuffs here okay?"

Audrey nodded childishly. Quite ashamed.

"Okay so, I'll get the torch, you'll get the switch alright?"

Natalie suggested searching around in the dark. Finding her way in the thick darkness with her skin.

"We're splitting? Not a good idea at all"

Audrey sounded terrified, a quaking in her voice, curious.

"Fine! Let's find a switch"

She nodded.

The two struggled in the dark around the place the red glowing clock made of ruby providing the only light source. Searching desperately for a switch on the wall almost crawling on the wall as they moved in the black out.

"Maybe we should draw open these draperies the moon light can help us"

Natalie suggested her voice echoing through the walls as she immediately swung into action pulling them open. The moon light instantly fully understanding reflecting into into the room directly on the book she was reading, "Sshhh!".

She stared at the crescent in the sky being brushed by clouds. Hooting owls audible from a distance and a flock of blind bats flickering past the moon. The howling of the wind at night like the sorrowful moaning and mourning of lost souls.
The illuminated wooden book shelf interwoven with a reflection of her shadow before her.

Soon Audrey found a switch. She sighed with relief.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, she turned it on and in came the bright light.

The two turned, faced with a giant book twice their heights at the centre of the library room. It was similar to the one Natalie was reading earlier. It stood vertically at the centre, pages open. Natalie walked behind to check the book cover. It was the exact same book she was reading. Bizzare, perhaps it grew she wondered.

Audrey walked in between the pages inspecting it's emptiness she pushed a page open they were empty.

"Audrey? Looks like it's the same book I was reading"

Natalie announced without a reply as she returned to find Audrey wrapped around a page like a tag.

On the left page was waiting.

"The sacrifice I've been waiting for!"
An image of an eye under it veiny bloodshot, twitched. Natalie froze.

Closing quickly more like jamming together, it smashed the whole Audrey together opening to reveal her squashed inner pieces, the stretched moist brain, slimy intestines gummed by clotted blood to the pages and the the squashed skeletons roped with tendons and marrows that had popped out of the joints. Her scream gradually died out, cold as ice.
Natalie could hear her last muffles she could she her eyes blinking, twitching on the floor out of their sockets staring at her. It gestured Natalie to come forth. Natalie swallowed at the gory eerie sight of her friend's gushed blood and internals her heart ozing with blood from the puncture by her rib bones. It turned to face the reader and turned over to the other page, are you sure you want to continue?
You're the last sacrifice. It was written with Audrey's blood.