「 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 」- 𝙻. 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝙸 - 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎

[ A - Day 2,651 A.D. ]

[ L - Day 1, A.D. ]

Aimless hours ticked away on the clock above my head in an unceasing, continuous rhythm.
Around here, clocks serve little practical purpose beyond being a monotonous soundtrack for an equally monotonous life. Or... existence, I suppose. I wonder, if the very concept of time ceased to exist here, how much would it really affect us?

I was sprawled out comfortably on an armchair behind the library's front desk, half-absorbed in a book and half-speculating over what Jameson would discuss at the meeting later today. The House's library was my favourite place to be, because it wasn't as modern as everything else in this enormous building. It felt like a library built a century too early, comfortable but unmistakably elegant, took up  half the floor, with tall ceilings and a maze of mahogany shelves crammed with nearly every book one could imagine. A bookworm's wet dream. Its stillness seemed embedded within the very walls. I spent nearly all of my free time here, for hours and even days on end without ever leaving for so much as a glass of water or bathroom break. Which, I suppose would sound impossible, if you didn't understand where exactly I was.

I'd been reading this particularly long book for what felt like eternity, and my attention had faltered considerably. Although the protagonist was hurdling towards the climax of a suspenseful, wonderfully written story, I still found my gaze drifting to the doors only I ever seemed to go through. Only a handful of people regularly check out books, so I barely considered the position of librarian my 'job', especially when it was secondary to my primary, much more important occupation.

I heard a meowing coming from underneath me and looked down. Pomp had come to visit me again. He was this little black cat with pale grey eyes that lived here with us. Somewhere along the centuries one of us got bright idea to name him Psychopomp, and now he's been stuck with a ridiculous name for who knows how many years.

Pomp leapt onto my armchair and stepped on to my lap, clearly looking for attention.

"Hey, Pomp." I said with a little smile, closing my book. I rubbed behind his ears and he let out a low purr, pressing his forehead into my chest. But right as he was settling down, the ground shook beneath us, and my phone loudly began to go off. The cat yowled and dug his nails into my thighs before leaping to the floor and darting down the row of bookcases and out of sight. I swore and called the cat some choice names before collapsed into the chair with a flop.

"Duty calls..." I said with a small sigh. I tossed my book on the coffee table and turned off the buzzer on my phone. The time read 4:05. Well, at least there's an upside. Jameson's meeting was at 5, so at least I would get to skip it this week. I'm fond of all my fellow Initatives, but I was the sole introvert, and all their socializing wasn't my cup of tea.

Maybe I  should explain. I currently hold the noble title of Senior Initiative (not to be confused with Head Initiative, Jameson). The 305th Senior Initiative since they started keeping records. This position is held by the person who's lived here the longest, and are graciously bestowed the honour/burden of welcoming new members of the H.H.S.A into our community. Whenever the ground shook like it did just now, it meant we just got a new arrival. You know, I really wish people would just stick to heaven or hell. Somehow, the universe not being able to properly sort people into neat categories of 'good' or 'bad' suddenly turned into my problem.

I got up from my armchair and took my time, stretching and trying to blink away my fatigue before I composed myself. To be honest with you, I would really rather not have to deal with another disoriented wreck for the next few weeks, but hey, that's the job. Once I felt somewhat alert, I exited the library and headed for the Alien Room across the hall, still shaking the needles of sleep from my legs.
On my way, I took a deep breath and prepared myself, and wondered what I was in store for this time. For my sake, I prayed they were the quiet type.