Rainer
Mama said there’s always a lesson to be learned from history. Sometimes people are just too stupid to learn from it.
Over the next week, their arguing gets worse, growing louder and almost constant. We continue walking north, and the weather gets cooler each day. I hope we stop at a library soon. I’m going to need some warmer clothes.
We’ve been seeking out houses, which isn’t bad. I’m enjoying exploring the different layouts of each one. It’s interesting to imagine how humans used to live a hundred years ago. Sometimes, I push buttons and flip switches, wondering what they used to do.
It’s a good distraction from their constant fighting. I’m not even involved in the fighting, yet my shoulders are constantly tense. I don’t sleep well because my shoulders and neck ache from the tension, and I feel sore every morning.
Today is crappy from the start. It’s raining, which means we’re not walking.
If we were further south where it was hot, I’d argue that the rain would feel good, but that’s not the case.
It’s chilly. I’m actually cold in the morning, even curled up beside Kaida, so I share her body heat and press myself against her soft fur.
I don’t ask where they get food from. Honestly, I appreciate not having to hunt for it every time I get hungry. This morning, they’ve done nothing but bicker. Notto seems to be picking at Keary every time there’s a quiet moment, which only makes another argument ensue.
By this point, I think I’ve gleaned that they’re supposed to be together. Like, romantically. Given the information I’ve been told about monsters by monsters, maybe Keary doesn’t want to mate with them even though their monsters insist that they’re packmates?
Sometimes I think I’m just going to ask, but when a quiet moment finally comes around, I want the peace to last as long as possible.
Those quiet times are becoming few and far between, and I know my question is only going to lead to more arguing.
I’m not interested in the answer enough to break their silence.
I thought the weather was somber enough that the quiet that carries us through breakfast would to extend throughout the morning. As soon as the thought crosses my mind, their arguing ensues.
Sighing, I get up and head outside, thankful this house has a wrap-around porch. When I step outside, the wind has the rain directly in my face, so I quickly follow around the side of the house and turn the corner. I’m about halfway along the length before the rain stops hitting me.
I slide to the dry deck and lean against the side with my eyes closed.
The only sound outside is the rain, then the clicking of Kaida’s paws on the deck.
I smile as she approaches. Her nose touches mine, and I reach up to brush my fingers through the damp fur on her muzzle. “You needed some peace too, huh?”
She snorts and sits beside me. Together, we stare into the rain. This house is surrounded by trees. I can’t see through them from right here. Maybe if the sky wasn’t so gray.
“Think there’s a library close?” I ask her.
Kaida bows her head.
“Yeah? How far? Five minutes?” Her eyes meet mine. “Ten minutes?” This time, she inclines her head.
Ten minutes walking in the rain. I glance at the house where I know there are three monsters still fucking bickering inside. The library offers a shower, food, clean clothes, and entertainment.
“Show me the way,” I tell her and get to my feet.
I don’t bother to tell them I’m leaving. I have a feeling that it would turn into a group trip, and I need a damn break.
Kaida leads me through the trees where the rain isn’t coming down as strong as when I’m in the open. We’re able to travel within the trees for a solid few minutes before Kaida veers out of the tree line.
We’re in a small town. The library is a single-story building that looks incredibly old. I push the door open, and a wall of warmth hits me, making me shiver.
“Shower first,” I tell Kaida. “I need to warm up.”
She shakes, making me throw my hands out as if that’s going to stop the spray of water she sends all over me. “Jerk,” I say, laughing.
There are showers in the back. If what they told me was true, I have to wonder how monsters managed construction and plumbing and shit in these places since the bathroom expansions had to have happened after the human race was practically destroyed.
Is it all just monster magic? Witch magic? What about fae magic?
I flick the light on in the bathroom and note that the answer might be a combination. The libraries always have power—some more than others—the bathrooms themselves always have power. They always have hot water. There’s always food in the kitchens that may or may not have originally existed.
It’s a library, though. I can’t imagine they were built with kitchens, but what do I know? It’s not like I was alive a hundred years ago. Maybe libraries had a need for kitchens that I just don’t understand.
I always try to be considerate when it comes to using the showers. You never know when there’s someone else waiting to use it.
I find some warm clothes and head back into the main section of the library. Kaida is waiting there, somehow dry now. She has a ball in her jaw, her tail wagging.
I grin, holding my hand out to her. She drops the ball in my hand then crouches her front end down and watches me expectantly.
“Feeling feisty, huh?”
She pounces back and forth, waiting. Her muzzle is open, tongue lolling out as she pants excitedly.
I can just barely make out the shapes of her wings pressed into the sides of her body.
Why did I never notice them before? I’m sure they were always there because they’re familiar, but I never saw them for what they were.
Overhead, the storm rages, the heavy raindrops pounding on the roof like a symphony. It’s so loud at times that I can’t hear Kaida’s paws on the floor as she runs around.
I toss the ball down an aisle and watch her sprint after it.
She bounds, jumping like she’s moving over tall grass.
Her body hovers in the air for a split-second too long before her feet hit the ground.
The ball bounces off the wall at the end and comes back.
She spins mid air and catches it in her jaws while her body contorts in a twist.
Kaida returns the ball to my hand, and we continue this way until she decides she wants me to chase her to get the ball, which I do. We run around the open space of the library. It feels good to laugh, and her clicking purr makes me think she’s laughing too.
She turns suddenly and crashes directly into my chest. I land on my back with an “oof” and sprawl across the floor. Kaida lies on top of me, her tail wagging, as she looks down at me with her ball in her mouth.
“You cheat,” I accuse.
She rests her head on my face, making me laugh. I wrap my arms around her, gently scratching her neck through her feathers.
The door opens. When she doesn’t move, I know that she knows who’s here. This is probably why she stopped me from running around. We have company.
“There you are,” Keary says, and I can feel his shadow over me. I can’t see him because of Kaida’s head covering my face, so I raise a hand in answer. “Why did you leave without telling me?”
“I needed a break from your constant fighting,” I mumble through neck fur. “You’re giving me a headache.”
Keary sighs. I feel his presence shift. Kaida turns her head to look at Keary, which allows me to turn mine until I can see him with one eye. He sits beside us with his legs folded under him.
“I’m sorry,” he says, and I think I believe it.
I don’t answer though.
He looks around then leans back on his hands. “Are you familiar with the Library of Alexandria?”
“I don’t know where Alexandria is,” I tell him. It’s not a city I’m familiar with. Maybe it’s on the west coast of the continent.
“Alexandria is in Egypt.”
I’m familiar with Egypt from books as a kid—mostly the pyramids and the thousands-year-old mummies of pharaohs.
“Alexandria was named for Alexander the Great, one of the most successful forces in history. He changed the world on a much greater scale than nearly anyone else ever has. Alexandria was best known for several things but primarily the Great Library and the Lighthouse, which was said to have some kind of death beam that could set ships on fire. It was used as a defense against invading forces.”
“Wow. Have you been there?”
Keary shakes his head. “Thousands of years ago, the lighthouse fell into the ocean due to an earthquake. The library was set on fire during a Roman Empire civil war. Some say it was an accidental fire, but somehow, I doubt that. History has shown over and over again that idiots in power like to burn histories of other people and beliefs to try to erase them. It’s happened several times in history and as recently as a hundred years ago when the humans had an orange tyrant in power here in what was once the U.S.
territory. He’s one of the leaders who didn’t believe that monsters existed, even when presented with the truth right in front of his eyes.
This dumbass actually issued an executive order that any state or government group supporting the ‘mentally ill’ who claimed that they were monsters would face the full extent of the law. ”
Orange tyrant. I’m picturing a little orange gremlin. My eyes flick to the books. Maybe I should look up who the last leader of the U.S. was.
“Anyway... That fun period in time is neither here nor there. Was his failure to act the reason there are fewer humans left alive in this part of the world? Fuck yes. But I digress. Back to the point. The Library of Alexandria was one of the greatest libraries in the world, built more than two thousand years ago. It was said to have held a copy of almost every written work—scrolls at that time—during its height.” He looks up at the ceiling.
It’s maybe the first time I’ve seen this expression on his face. Wonder?
“Back before Silence destroyed everything, I used to spend all my time reading, getting lost in stories, histories, biographies. I read anything I could get my hands on. I dreamed that I could rebuild the Great Library and begin collecting a copy of every book, manuscript, and notes ever written from every place on Earth and every place within the monster world.”
“You gave up that dream?”
Kaida shifts off me, rolling to the floor and lying on her back. I chuckle.
Keary lies beside me, propped on his side and pressed right against me. I can feel his body heat through our clothes. His eyes stare into mine. Silence fills the room, and I realize that the rain has let up.
His fingers trace my jaw, moving along the side of my face before burying themselves in my hair. “It feels frivolous now,” he says. “I feel like I can’t enjoy a library when the world is in the state it’s in, you know?”
His body rolls partially on top of mine, and his hard cock presses against my hip. His hand moves from my hair down my neck, my chest, my abdomen. I feel his fingers on my skin beneath my shirt. My cock strains, reaching for his hand.
“Can I get you off, precious?” he asks.
A groan escapes in answer. “Is this what you’re supposed to be doing in a library?”
His smile makes my stomach flutter. “There are new rules in the world. As long as we clean up after ourselves and don’t ruin the books.”
I reach for his head, gripping a handful of hair, and yank his face to mine. He kisses me hungrily, but his hand doesn’t move from my stomach.
“I thought you were going to get me off,” I say.
“You didn’t agree.”
“Get me off, Keary.”
His mouth seals over mine again, and his hand plunges beneath my pants. My entire body jerks as it curls around my cock. He squeezes me tightly. I can feel myself leak. That warm, wet spot on my stomach says as much.
Keary’s hand is extra hot. It feels like the heat from his touch dives deep inside me, curling around my core and my balls, setting my arousal on fire. I jerk up into his hand, needing to feel some friction.
He lets me go long enough to shove my pants down so my bare ass is on the library floor. He kicks off his pants, then straddles me, pressing our dicks together. Our mouths break apart, and he sits up to look down at me, his hand wrapped around our cocks.
I’m not sure when the sun broke through the clouds, but a beam of light lands right across our dicks, circling them. It’s like a hot ribbon, tying them together tightly.
Keary leans forward, his hands on either side of my shoulders. Even though his hands are no longer on me, I feel the tight grip around our dicks, holding them together. The heat. The feel of him. How hard he is. Everything inside of me burns hotly.
He fucks his cock against mine with hard, quick thrusts. I hold his hips, then reach around to his plump, bare ass and down the backs of his thighs, my fingers digging in. Fuck. I’m going to come. It’s right there.
I’m so damn horny that it doesn’t take long for me to shoot all over my stomach. Keary continues to thrust against me until his cum joins mine. The touch of the sun retreats, and he remains over me for a minute before he pulls back.
His eyes land on our mess on my stomach. I’m horrified when he buries his face in it, rubbing it around until he’s coated. I stare as he sits back up, licking his lips. His face is painted, and when he leans over me, I shove him away.
“That’s gross.” I laugh and struggle to keep his face far from me.
Eventually, he concedes and leaves to retrieve a towel.
We clean up and redress, then lie together on the floor.
The sun was only here for a short minute, just that window in time to lend another hand in getting off, and now the rain is back.
It’s so damn loud that it’s all I can hear.
The room has turned dark. A streak of lightning flashes, making shadows reach across the floor. Thunder rumbles a minute later.
The storm is getting closer. Lightning continues, and the thunder grows louder and quicker. The door crashes open just as a bright streak of lightning makes the room shine like daylight. The thunderous boom shakes the walls. A scream follows it, and Keary leaps to his feet, running for the door.