Chapter 18 #2
Footsteps hammered against the floor, and Stella lifted her palms to her eyes and wiped away the grime. As she blinked, Jack
came into view. He dropped down beside her.
“What happened? What’s this all over the floor?” he asked in quick succession. “It looks like—”
Stella burst into tears, crying hard into her dirty hands. Jack pulled her against him and held her until she could breathe
normally.
“What in the hell just happened?” Percy demanded.
Ariel knelt beside Stella. “Is that man dead? Why did he explode?”
Stella cried harder. Jack lifted her into a sitting position. “Stella,” he said, pushing her hair back from her face, “talk
to me.”
“Somebody better tell me what’s going on,” Percy said.
“Hook,” Stella said and wiped the back of her hand across her runny nose. Then she stared down at her bloody, dirty arm. A
black line of soot clung to the cut. “I-I killed him.”
“What?” Jack asked as he gripped both of her shoulders and made her face him.
Percy squatted next to them. “You killed who?” Then he looked to Jack and pointed up. “A man fell from the second floor, and
then he . . . disappeared.”
“He didn’t disappear,” Ariel argued. “He exploded into dirt.”
“Ashes,” Stella said, sniffling. “Hook attacked me, and when I defended myself, he ran into the sword, and then he tripped,
and . . .” She shuddered. “I was going to save him, but then he . . . he—”
“It’s okay,” Jack said, pulling her against him and rubbing her back.
“Who is Hook?” Percy asked.
Ariel huffed. “Captain Hook from Peter Pan,” she said as though it should be obvious. “He’s been terrorizing the library after he came out of his book, and now . . .
I don’t know what happens now. Is he dead?”
Jack shook his head. “No. He’s back where he should be. This is what happens when characters die near the source.” He pointed
to the ashes around them.
“Ick,” Ariel said, standing up and brushing Hook’s remains from her knees.
“Has everyone here lost their minds?” Percy said, standing again and shoving his hands through his dark curls. “I have no
idea what’s happening.”
“Should we tell him?” Ariel asked Stella. “Will Arnie be okay with that?”
Stella closed her eyes and hung her head. “The more the merrier.”
Jack lifted Stella’s arm gently. “This needs to be cleaned. Stay here.” He rushed off to the bathroom and returned with two
handfuls of wet paper towels.
Stella wiped her face and body. Jack removed a first-aid kit hanging on a wall nearby and pulled out supplies, then sat down
beside her and cleaned the wound.
Peroxide bubbled on her skin, and Stella clenched her jaw and winced. “Is it bad? Do I need stitches?”
Jack shook his head. “Antiseptic and maybe a few bandages. It’s not deep.” He wadded up the soiled paper towels. Then he dabbed
antiseptic ointment on the deepest sections of the cut before covering the wound with bandages and medical tape. “He’s not
really dead, Stella. He’s gone back into his story where he will always be alive and roguish. I’m sorry you had to experience
that, and I understand that it’s upsetting, but you didn’t really kill anyone.”
Stella nodded, but she had unintentionally killed a man, fictional or not. There was a trace of comfort knowing Hook wasn’t permanently dead.
Percy paced the floor. “It sure as hell looked like someone died,” he said. “I’ve never seen a body do that. Explode into
dust like that.”
“That’s because real people don’t do that, Percy,” Ariel said. She helped Stella to her feet.
Jack stood. “I’ll clean up the floor.” He pointed toward the sword. “And I’ll clean that and return it to its case in the
archives. Why don’t you head on over to Arnie’s? Get some rest.”
“No one is going anywhere until I get some answers,” Percy said. Two angry lines formed between his brows. “Speaking of that”—he pointed at the bloodied sword—“a man with a sword in his chest fell from the balcony and died—”
“He’s not dead,” Stella corrected.
Percy pointed to the second floor as though they needed clarification. “You were in a fight with him up there? And you stabbed him? With a sword?”
“Percy,” Stella said in exasperation. Her temples throbbed. “If you give me a minute to clear my head, I’ll explain everything.
First I need to lock up the library.”
Jack grabbed the sword and walked off. Percy continued to stare, seemingly uncertain what to do next.
“Tell me how I can help,” Ariel said as she followed Stella to the circulation desk. While they walked, Ariel touched Stella’s
arm. “I want to ask if you’re okay, but how could you be? Things have escalated drastically, but at least . . . at least Hook’s
gone.” She grimaced. “Too soon?”
Stella wrapped her arms around herself. “I know it’s not real, but it feels real,” she said, her voice still quivering.
“What was he saying to you at the end?” Ariel asked. “It sounded like he was talking, but I couldn’t understand him.”
Stella felt the prickle of tears again. “That he was proud of me.”
Ariel’s mouth fell open. “For fake murdering him?”
“For standing up for myself,” Stella said. “For fighting for what I want.”
Ariel leaned her arms on the high desktop.
Stella continued, “It dawned on me how long it’s been since I’ve stood up for myself and been firm about what I want. I know
this is a lousy comparison because I was literally fighting for my life tonight, but before all of this”—she waved her hand
through the air to mimic a windstorm—“I’ve done next to nothing to assert my needs or pay attention to what I truly want.
But that’s all going to change. I’m already changing.”
The most recent purple words popped back into her mind. She opened the drawer in the circulation desk where she kept her purse
and notebook and pulled out the latter. She flipped to the page where she’d been cataloging the violet words. She added the
newest ones. Now the collected words read: I fell in love once. Did I ever tell you that? He was excruciatingly handsome and no ordinary man, but one built from paper
and rich black ink.
She handed the journal to Ariel.
Ariel read slowly. “Definitely sounds like a story.”
“I know,” Stella admitted. “I’ve written so many stories, never finished anything, and words have been showing up for years,
but never this way. Never with such intensity. The more I think about the last few days, the more I know it’s all connected.
Maybe this is the beginning of my first novel.”
Percy walked toward them, but he kept an eye on Jack as he swept up what remained of Hook. Stella’s chest tightened, and she
whispered so only Ariel could hear. “Even Jack’s appearance is part of what’s happening to me. He can see the words, my words, and no one else can.”
“That has to mean something,” Ariel agreed. “Have you had any more thoughts about how we can make his stay permanent?”
Stella shook her head. “I’m asking Arnie as soon as I can.”
Ariel glanced at how close Percy was to them and quickly added, “Careful with Percy. He’s giving off a superintense vibe.”
“Meaning?” Stella asked, making eye contact with her brother.
“He’s as mad as a hornet.”
“Fantastic,” she said dryly. “Let’s lock up and turn off the lights. Percy, I’ll be right back.”
“I expect a full explanation,” he said.
“I expect you’ll need a stiff drink afterward,” Stella said as she walked off. Any expectations she had for getting to bed
soon and resting before the festival tomorrow were becoming less and less reachable.