The Librarian Perils (1-10)

by AmazonArrow from https://www.deviantart.com/amazonarrow and https://www.patreon.com/amazonarrow

Censorship sucks. And so does harassment.  

The Librarian Perils series created by AmazonArrow over on DeviantArt is very special to me so, with her permission, I am going to repost the entire series here over the next few months because bits and pieces of it have been deleted over time by the Admins at DA! I hope you'll enjoy this feature and check out the other fine work of AmazonArrow!

My name is Chryseis Kent. I was recently hired on as the Head Librarian of Racks View Memorial Library by the curator Mr. Mathers. I am responsible for getting this place cleaned up in the wake of a major renovation and ensuring that the library runs smoothly. 

During my interview, Mr. Mathers warned me about the local college students and that they could be quite mischievous. I'm not sure who the former Head Librarian was or why she retired so suddenly and without warning, but apparently she used to allow some of the older students to get away with just about whatever they wanted. 

That wasn't going to be the case under my watch.

It didn't take long for a few troublemakers to show up. I caught a young woman and her boyfriend making out in the closet of the media center. That section of the library is still without power and it was very dark, so I couldn't get a good look at either of them at the time. I told them that they would have to leave immediately or I would have no choice but to report them to the police! They panicked and scrambled out of a nearby window, and I assumed that would be the end of it.

Later that night, while I was locking up the library... they came back...

Oh, hush now Ms. Kent... We have you now and no one can hear you whimpering, so you might as well just relax and enjoy the moment. With your air cut off like that we only have a few moments left before you pass out from lack of oxygen, so you need to pay attention.

Poor thing... you thought you were completely safe here during business hours. There are lots of people around... in fact there's a group of teachers just three aisles over... it's the middle of the afternoon... security isn't too far away... if you could somehow manage to cry for help I'm sure that there are many concerned citizens here who might come rushing to your aid... 

But that's not going to happen... I won't ALLOW that to happen. 

I just want you to understand that I can get to you anywhere at anytime. 

I hear that you've been trying to "lay down the law" and "enforce the rules" here in the library. That's so cute. You're new here, so I can understand how you might have MISTAKENLY believed that your position as Head Librarian grants you a bit of authority. I just wanted to clear up any "confusion" that you might be experiencing. This is MY library. You're NOT in charge around here... I am. This library and everything in it is under MY control, and that means so are you. You work for me now. You'll be doing as I say.

You're such a sweet and docile little thing... I can see by the way your eyes are rolling around that there isn't much fight left in you Ms. Kent, so I'll just let you get some sleep now. We'll dress you and leave you all tidied up and it'll look like you just fell asleep while shelving these boring old books. No one will ever know what actually happened here today. No one needs to know. This is just our little secret. But if you tell anyone, or if you EVER cross me... I can guarantee that your humiliation will be much more "public" next time. 

You can call me Nikki, but soon you will call me Mistress... or whatever I tell you to call me.

We'll talk again soon... Good night, Ms. Kent...

[Note: The 3 pics above were done by ForceMasterR (https://www.deviantart.com/forcemasterr). He owes me one so I'm using these pics till he says otherwise  :) ]

“Are you certain this is the right book, Ms. Kent?”

Well, of course it was… ‘The Subtle Art of Hypnosis’… just as he had requested. It was very old and I had to go through all of the trouble of checking it out from special collections. “Why do you ask? Is this not what you were expecting?”

He seemed irritated and disappointed. “I’m not sure. I’m not actually a hypnotist myself, but I’m interested in the topic. A colleague of mine told me that this book would provide me with everything that I’d need to get started. This looks kind of like what she described… but… the cover is not exactly right. I thought the spiral design would be far more intricate. Perhaps this is just a cheap copy.” 

I glanced down at the cover of the heavy and dusty leather-bound tome and examined the spiral design more closely. It was embossed and gilded with a reflective material that glittered in the light. I could see myself reflected in the slightly mirrored and facetted surface inlaid beneath the spiral design. The crystalline material somehow shattered my image into a kaleidoscope of brilliant color and random flashes. It was beautiful now that I really took a closer look at it. “Intricate” was an understatement. This had to be the right book.

“Ms. Kent?”

My lips parted to form a reply, but then I noticed the most amazing pattern within the texture of the spiral. It seemed to grow even more elaborate and sophisticated as my eyes traced the outer edge of the spiral moving towards the center.

“Ms. Kent... can you hear me?”

Of course I could. I was going to tell him that, but I was too busy trying to examine the symbols along the edge of the spiral. I hadn’t noticed them before. They seemed to form words, but I didn’t recognize any of the letters. I decided to answer him so that he wouldn’t distract me from the spiral.

“Yesss.”

That was odd. My voice sounded strange and breathless. I realized that I was concentrating on the spiral so intently that I had allowed my breathing to slow. I was feeling pretty relaxed and I could hear the drowsiness in my voice. Not that it really mattered.

“Oh… oh my gosh… are… are you… in a trance?”

Having never been in a trance before, I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did it really concern me. I just wanted him to leave me alone so that I could continue to examine the spiral. The flow of the symbols seemed to be leading me towards the center of the design and I could sense that whatever I found in the middle would be even more amazing than the details that I had already discovered. I really wanted to see what was in the center of the design and I thought about just peaking… but that felt a bit like cheating. Why spoil the fun? I was determined to enjoy the journey and to explore the entire spiral from start to finish. Unfortunately it was becoming quite a strain on my eyes to keep track of all of the various tiny lines and engravings.

“Oh, wow... you really are!!! Oh, my gosh… this is amazing...“

The spiral WAS amazing. So many tiny details. What was it made from? I’d never seen anything quite like it. So gorgeous.

“Erhm, hmmm… what do I do now... Let’s see… perhaps you’re… you’re feeling very sleepy? “

What a strange thing to say… but he was right. I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes open and I did feel a bit tired. There was really no point in lying about it, so I told him…

“Yes.”

I heard him giggle softly about something, but it didn’t really concern me. I had discovered a tiny sliver of silver laced into the golden material of the spiral design. It was absolutely fascinating…

“You don’t want to look away from the spiral… but it’s becoming harder for you to keep your eyes open, isn’t it?”

How did he know that? I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the kaleidoscopic pattern. My eyes seemed to be sliding closed of their own accord. I blinked, but it took quite a bit of effort to open them again. Oh, that’s right… he had asked me a question. I should probably respond, so as not to be rude.

“Yesssss.”

Suddenly his arm was around my shoulder. I was vaguely aware that at some point he had gotten a bit closer to me. For a moment I considered stepping away, but he gently pulled me towards him and I realized that this actually made it easier for me to stay on my feet. More importantly it was easier for me to focus on the spiral. I was feeling even more tired, perhaps even a little light-headed. It felt nice to have someone to lean on and to support my weight. It felt safe. And besides, I was getting very close to the center of the spiral now…

“Ms. Kent... I want you to listen closely to the sound of my voice. Can you do that for me?”

He was speaking slowly now; his voice seemed deeper with very smooth and even tones. It was really quite nice. That powerful and masculine voice seemed to wash over me, making me feel even more relaxed, and perhaps even a little aroused. Oh, I almost forgot to answer his question!

“Yesss.”

I felt sooooo tired. It seemed to be increasingly difficult to open my eyes again after every blink, so I tried to avoid blinking, though somehow that just made the urge to blink even stronger. My eyelids were so heavy that I couldn’t really get them to open all the way. Despite my best efforts, my eyes slid closed. 

But, no… please, not yet… I just had to find out what was in the center of the spiral and that motivated me to pry my eyes back open again. They seemed to open very, very slowly… but at last I could see the glittering spiral again. Not much further now before I discovered what was at the center of the design. I just knew it would be something wonderful.

“This is incredible! What shall I do with my very own hypnotized librarian?” 

Did he just say “hypnotized”? That was ridiculous. I wasn’t hypnotized in the slightest. I was far too busy concentrating on the spiral to have time for any sideshow silliness. My eyes were nearing the center of the spiral, but all I could see was darkness. I realized that my eyelids had slipped closed without me being aware of it. I tried to open them, but the effort was exhausting. I managed to pry them open just long enough to get another look at the spiral… but… I had lost my place. I couldn’t remember which symbol was the last one that I had seen. I’d have to start all over again from the beginning. 

Just imagining the effort that might take was exhausting. So much easier just to…

“Ms. Kent… it’s time for you to… SLEEP.”

What a wonderful idea…

I was just… going to…  to…

YOU CAN'T HANDLE ME EITHER


It was the middle of the afternoon and the library was relatively quiet. I was taking the opportunity to catch up on paperwork while sitting at the customer service desk in the middle of the library commons when I noticed that someone was approaching out of the corner of my eye.

“Uhm… excuse me, Ms. Kent? I was wondering if you could help me find a particular book?”

I looked up to see a beautiful blonde young woman standing over my desk. She appeared to be in her early twenties and she was tall, slender and obviously an athlete. She seemed very familiar, which meant that she was likely one of the library’s regular patrons from the neighboring university. I didn’t know all of the patrons by name, but this late in the semester I could recognize many of our most studious and consistent visitors.

“Of course, dear. What is it that you’re looking for?”

“It’s, uhm… well, I have the ISBN code, but I don’t actually know the title. Could you help me to find it?”

For the first time I noticed that the young lady seemed extremely nervous. She was glancing around as she spoke, almost as if she was afraid of being watched or followed. Sometimes the students were intimidated by the library staff, and authority figures in general, so I used my most soothing customer service voice in an effort to set her mind at ease.

“I’d be happy to help. Let’s just fine a kiosk and we’ll look it up together. You know… you seem very familiar. Do you mind if I ask your name?”

“Uhm… Megan… Megan Wyatt...”

“Of course! You’re the intercollegiate swimming champion, right? I’ve heard all about you! Gamma Beta Phi president, Organic Chemistry major, Honor’s Society member... and you’re only a sophomore! Quite the model student! You must be very proud of all that you’ve accomplished here at the university in such a short time!”

“Uhm, sure… I guess.”

She was extremely modest and somehow that made her seem even more innocent and adorable. I ushered her towards the search kiosk and once again couldn’t help but to admire that she was in such great physical shape. Her legs were fantastic, no doubt from hours upon hours in the pool. I couldn’t help but to notice how lovely she was and to feel a little jealous. I was only seven or eight years older than her, but I was suddenly feeling every minute of my age. She really was a beautiful girl, and with obvious brains to match she would become a force to be reckoned with in a few short years.

“OK, here we are. Please read me the number and I’ll enter it into the system and we’ll see if we can track down the title.”

Megan gave me the ISBN code and I typed it into the catalog computer and waited for the search results. I glanced over at Megan and she gave me a rather sheepish but attractive smile. I have always been thrilled to see another young woman working hard to better herself through academia. Librarianship is all about helping others to improve themselves.

Megan glanced around again with that concerned look on her face and I was about to ask her if everything was ok, but then I heard the chime as the kiosk returned the results and provided the title of the book. Before I could read it, Megan distracted me by leaning towards me and putting her hand gently on my shoulder. She began to whisper into my ear and my heart skipped a beat. I could feel the warmth of her breath as she spoke. My ears are extremely sensitive and it always makes me shudder a little to know that someone’s lips are so close to one of my most powerful erogenous zones. I didn’t know if I could actually feel her soft lips brush against my earlobe or if I was just imagining it, but I found myself biting my lower lip either way and my stockinged toes curled inside my pumps. I held my breath, afraid that I might moan if I exhaled, while trying to push aside the fantasies that flashed in the back of my mind. I knew that she was only innocently trying to tell me a secret of some sort and there was no point in letting my imagination get me all worked up over nothing.

“Ms. Kent...I, uhm… I was told to tell you that… you really should read this book for yourself. He said it would be right up your alley.”

That didn’t make much sense… Why would someone give a student a book to recommend to me? I wondered who this mysterious “he” might be. I detected a hint of breathless reverence in her voice when she said the simple word, or perhaps that was just my imagination. I glanced down at the book title retrieved from the search engine… and my jaw dropped.

The title of the book was ‘The Bimbo Librarian’.

My opinion of Megan shifted dramatically as anger and disappointment rushed through me. I whirled towards her and got right in her face, using my six feet of height to loom over her. I could be intimidating when I got angry, and I was feeling absolutely livid!

“Is this supposed to be funny, young lady?!?!”

“Uhm, no, ma’am… I’m really sorry, but…”

Megan recoiled from my rage and she actually appeared to be genuinely sorry. She was still looking around nervously, still frantically scanning the room. The look of shock and embarrassment on her face was authentic. I don’t think she knew what book title the ISBN code would pull up. I could see that she was beginning to realize just how much trouble she was getting herself into, but I suspected that someone else was behind this obnoxious little prank. This all seemed extremely out of character for a girl with her credentials and social visibility on campus.

“Young lady, I am shocked at your behavior. This is completely disrespectful! The university has an honor code and conduct standards. You do realize that if I reported this cheap little trick to the Greek Council you could be removed from Gamma Beta Phi entirely? Why would you do such a thing when you’ve obviously worked so hard to be successful?”

“I… I don’t know…. Because he told me to… and he’s just… ohmygod… there’s just something about him…”

Megan’s gaze drifted off into the distance, as if she were staring into the eyes of an unseen angel. Whoever this boy was, he must be something special to have her in such a state. I wasn’t about to let her off the hook, but I could sympathize with letting sexual attraction interfere with one’s better judgement, especially at her age. She was a terrific girl, but she was obviously under the influence of a boy that was a little more than she could handle. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Who put you up to this? Who gave you this ISBN code?”

“Just… some guy... He gave me this note and… uhm….”

“Note? Can I see it? What does it say?”

She fumbled in her pockets and when the note appeared I practically ripped it out of her hands. As I read the note I could see that, whoever this young man was, he had no shortage of confidence:

'Hey there, Sugar Thighs. I’m going to need that brainless librarian cunt’s desk for a few minutes and I need you to help me. Give her this ISBN code and keep her away for as long as you can. Later tonight I’ll stop by your sorority house and make sure that your reward is something delicious.'

My face was practically glowing bright red with outrage. Megan was obviously not the real problem, but the young man that wrote this letter… he had to be dealt with immediately! Who did this little prick think he was?

“What is that supposed to mean… ‘brainless cunt’? Who is this jackass? Come with me right now Megan and we’ll get this sorted out!”

She started to protest, but I forcefully grabbed her wrist and pulled her along after me as we returned to my customer service desk. I don’t know why this guy wanted me away from my desk, but hopefully I could catch him red-handed doing whatever it was that he was trying to accomplish. As Megan and I emerged from between a set of bookshelves, I could finally get a clear look at what was happening at my desk and...

“Oh my God!”

What I saw was so brazen and shocking that for a moment I thought I might actually faint. A beautiful young woman with long red hair was sprawled across the surface of my desk with her legs spread and dangling over the edges. She was wearing a spandex cheerleader blouse that was pulled up over the top of her breasts and her shorts and panties were pulled down to below her knees. She was completely limp except for the rapid rise and fall of her exposed breasts as she panted heavily. She appeared to be exhausted and asleep. Her skin was flushed pink and glistening with sweat and it was obvious that she had just received a vigorous fucking. A blonde young man, perhaps only twenty years old, was standing between her legs and had just finished pulling up his pants and was now fussing with his belt. As he turned to look at me, he flashed a dazzling smiled that I wanted to slap right off of his face.

"I redecorated your desk, bookworm… I hope you don’t mind.”

I realized that I had a white-knuckled death grip on Megan’s wrist and my mind went completely blank as I realized that I had no idea what to do in a situation like this. How could something like this happen in the library commons area in the middle of the afternoon?!?!? There were perhaps a dozen or more students and patrons gathered around, but no one made any effort to help the girl on my desk. Didn’t anyone intervene or call for help or campus security?

I released Megan’s wrist and ran to my desk to check on the girl to make sure that she was ok. I pulled down her top to cover her breasts and restore some semblance of her modesty. Her pink nipples were obviously stiff from arousal and I could smell the tang of recent sex in the air. She appeared to have passed out with a slight, blissful smile on her parted lips.

“Oh my God! ...Is she ok? What… what did you do to her?”

“Relax, bimbo, she’s fine. And I think you know exactly what I did to her. I fucked her senseless right here on your desk.”

I knew that was what had happened, but hearing him actually confess to it so openly suddenly made this bizarre situation even more real. His confident swagger caught my eye as he approached and his breathtaking smile never faded. He gazed at me with his intense eyes, as if he were a predator sizing up his next inevitable meal. The way he was looking at me… dear god, he might have made me giggle like a schoolgirl myself if the circumstances were different. I tried to be angry and summon my rage, but I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. Instead of projecting authority, my voice was suddenly weak and quivering. What was wrong with me?

“You… had sex with her? Right here in public? In broad daylight? Didn’t anyone see what was happening?”

He smirked and gestured at the unconscious girl on my desk and waved to the crowd as they began to disperse. No one seemed to want to get involved now that the show was over.

“Oh, yeah… lots of people saw. I had quite an audience as a matter of fact, but Angela told everyone that she was okay and that they could all watch if they promised to keep quiet. Angela here is an exhibitionist and, as you can see, it reeeeally gets her off. She likes to put on a good show. Angela is the varsity football cheerleading captain and she’s extremely athletic, but it looks like I wore her out. The poor thing couldn’t handle that third orgasm.”

Ohmygod… this was all so unreal. I was feeling dizzy. My vision was blurry and I think I was beginning to hyperventilate. And did he just say...

"Th… third… orgasm?”

I felt my knees start to give away and I leaned against my desk to steady myself. I couldn’t even imagine what multiple orgasms might feel like. I was a “one-and-done” sort of girl. I thought the only women that could actually achieve multiple orgasms were girls in cheesy romance novels and erotic fiction. Such things didn’t happen to real women in real life. I couldn’t stop imagining what it must have been like for Angela. The thought of having sex right here in public with this confident young stud...

“Ohhh… you like the sound of that, don’t you? Such a slutty little bookworm. You remind me of one of my old teachers back in Virginia. She was a little whore just like you.”

I looked up at him, intending to glare at him… but my eyes were wide with shock instead. He seemed to be looking through me, as if he could see all of my secrets and desires. I had to snap out of it, but the way he was looking at me made my insides begin to flutter.

“Just… just who do you think you are young man?”

“My name is Richard Masters… but you can call me Dick. I’m sure you like “dick”… don’t you, girl?”

His voice was thick and masculine as he said the word “dick” with dripping innuendo. He was so incredibly obnoxious, but… there was something irresistible about him. I could barely keep myself together and I now understood how Megan had been convinced to do his bidding. I glanced over at Megan and was surprised to see that she was clutching her right breast in her hand as her eyes darted back and forth between Richard and myself. He was getting the better of me, putting me in my place, and it was clearly turning her on. I must admit that seeing her in such a state was doing the same to me. She was impossibly beautiful and every time that we briefly locked eyes it was if I was sharing in her arousal, and she in mine. Seeing her so stimulated by my plight was only making my situation worse. Megan pinched her nipple through her blouse, and as her eyes rolled back she moaned deep in her throat… and so did I. Richard observed all of this with obvious delight.

“Hmmm… Or maybe instead of “Dick” you prefer “Dyke”... Heheh.”

In my mind’s eyes I saw myself sprawled with my back on my own desk with Megan on top of me and Richard alternately fucking us both. I was practically panting at the thought, but then I looked at Richard and saw his obnoxious and ever-present smile still plastered on his face… and suddenly my anger returned. I had to get control of this situation! I had to get this kid out of my library, before I ended up doing something that I might regret!

“I… I can’t believe you think it’s ok to talk to people like this! You’re lucky I haven’t called for security! Get out! Get out this instant!”

He smirked at me and stalked towards me confidently, invading my personal space. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of his as he glared up at me. I was taller than him by a few inches, but he somehow made me feel so small. My voice was trembling, my entire body was trembling for that matter... meanwhile he exuded nothing but dominance and total control.

“You won’t call security, because if you do then there will be questions and reports and at the end of the day the only people that will get hurt by all of this will be Megan and Angela. Such bright young  girls with promising futures completely ruined by a little harmless afternoon hankie-pankie… and you wouldn’t want that now, would you? Little girls need to stick together.”

I was so confused. In that moment I couldn’t think straight, and what he was saying seemed to make perfect sense. But I had to do something...

“I… I don’t…. I…”

“There, there… don’t think, bimbo. No one is interested in your tiny little thoughts. You’re only useful for what you have between your thighs.”

Between my thighs... I realized that I was feeling extremely wet between my thighs and I was certain that Richard was well aware of this.

“I… I don’t need security. I can handle you myself.”

He laughed out loud, right in my face, as if I had somehow stumbled upon some sort of private joke. I didn’t think it was all that funny.

“Ha! You are just like my old teacher. She thought she could handle me, but she ended up on a leash.”
Images whirled through my mind and I wondered if he simply meant that she ended up doing his bidding... or if he mean that she actually ended up on her hands and knees wearing a collar and a leash? For some reason I suspected it was the latter.

"That… won’t happen… to me.”

The sound of my soft, tiny voice trying desperately to defy him didn’t convince Richard in the slightest. How could it? I was imagining myself on my hands and knees as he walked me around on a leash.

“Oh, no… I have something special in mind just for you.”

“Y… you do?”

I almost came right then and there. He hadn’t even touched me, but my mind was lost in a fog of sexual fantasy and my body was responding like crazy. He had plans for me… and I didn’t know if I’d be able to resist him. I didn’t know if I even wanted to resist. Every woman has secrets and embarrassing desires with no expectation that anyone will ever come along and actually fulfill them… but with Richard, I could sense that absolutely anything was possible.

“Oh, yes… soon you’ll see what every woman eventually comes to understand.”

I thought about myself just standing there ready to cum at any moment. I thought about Megan pleasuring herself as I trembled. I thought about Angela fucked into unconsciousness on my desk. I thought about the teacher on a leash that couldn’t handle Richard. I managed to speak, but it was barely a whisper...

“Understand what?”

He leaned towards me and I just knew what he was going to say... and I knew that he was right when he whispered in my ear...

“You can’t handle me either.”

MS. KENT CHECK IT OUT NOW

Thank you for contacting Ask_A_Librarian. A representative will be with you shortly...
You are now chatting with MsKent.

MsKent: Hello. My name is Ms. Kent. Thank you for allowing me to be your online search specialist today. How may I assist you?

arTISTic: Hi, are you an actual librarian?

MsKent: I am. Do you require assistance with your online research?

arTISTic: Yes, please... but it’s getting rather late. I thought the library might be closed at this hour. I don’t want to be a bother.

MsKent: I’m happy to help in any way that I can. The main library itself is closed, but our online Ask_A_Librarian service is still available and I am ready to assist with your question.

arTISTic: Great! So I can ask you any question about anything?

MsKent: Sure! Go for it! : )

arTISTic: My question is concerning psychotherapy techniques like hypnosis. Do you know anything about hypnosis Ms. Kent?

MsKent: Not personally, but I'm certain that I can track down a few sources. Are you looking for books? Magazine articles? Scientific journals?

arTISTic: Have you ever experienced hypnosis Ms. Kent?

MsKent: I might have, but if I did then the hypnotist must have made me forget all about it. ; )

arTISTic: You're funny! I like that.

MsKent: Thanks! I personally don’t believe that hypnosis really works, but I will be happy to locate any resources that you might need.

arTISTic: Oh, I can assure you that it works. In fact it can have extremely powerful and erotic effects on the subject in some cases.

MsKent: Erotic? Hmmm… = P

arTISTic: Oh yes. In fact, that is the topic of my research this evening.

MsKent: Well, I’m not sure that I know of any “erotic hypnosis” reference sources off of the top of my head, but please give me a moment and I’ll...

arTISTic: Well, I think that you will find that my particular question is going to be very easy.

MsKent: Oh?

arTISTic: In fact you will find that it is actually very easy to follow my words as they appear on your chat screen even though it’s getting very late at the end of a long day at work. Don’t you agree?
MsKent: I do. What is your question?

arTISTic: I don’t want to burden you with a difficult question at such a late hour. All I ask is that you FOCUS on what I have to say. Can you do that Ms. Kent?

MsKent: Yes… but…

arTISTic: It will only take a moment for you to help me. Would you like to help me Ms. Kent?

MsKent: Yes.

arTISTic: Good. it’s important that you focus your attention right here. You will find it very easy to help me as you focus on my words. You may begin to imagine the sound of my voice as you read along, which is perfectly normal and makes it very easy for you to focus right here on your chat window, focusing on my very easy questions. Finding it very easy to reply to my simple questions. It’s so easy to chat with me, isn’t that right Ms. Kent?

MsKent: Right.

arTISTic: Excellent. I’m going to ask you my question in just a moment, but since it’s so late it’s only natural at this hour for you to want to relax. I don’t want to be a bother and you’ve already worked so hard today, so it’s ok for you to get a little more comfortable in your chair. Feel yourself sink into the chair. You are so patient to help me at this time of night and I’m sure you must be getting sleepy, but you are doing so good at focusing on my words and being so helpful to me, and I want you to feel good about helping me. It’s so easy to help me that you are even a bit unaware of the act of typing, yes?

MsKent: Yes

arTISTic: How are you feeling now Ms. Kent?

MsKent: Relaxed

arTISTic: Wonderful. Feeling so good. Letting your body sink into the comfort of your chair. Knowing that as you SINK it’s still so important to FOCUS so that you can help me, yes?

MsKent: Yes

arTISTic: You’re doing so well, Ms. Kent. No reason to think about anything now; only to focus and to listen, your body so relaxed and comfortable, easily moving your hand to type responses without thinking, yes?

MsKent: yes

arTISTic: You don’t have to type “yes” anymore, Ms. Kent. As you sink deeper and deeper into my hypnotic trance, as your mind drifts and thinking becomes soooooo difficult, as your body begins to feel warmer and so relaxed, you may find that it is easier to simply type the letter “Y” and I will understand. Is it easier to type the letter “Y” as you obey?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: Good girl. Feeling yourself floating and drifting so effortlessly now. You really are helping me, Ms. Kent, and this gives you a deep sense of satisfaction. Feeling better and better with each of my questions that you answer, yes?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: So much better. So easy and peaceful and pleasurable to respond and to obey. I know that it’s becoming more difficult for you to think now, but I will fill your mind with new thoughts now Ms. Kent. Feel the pleasure of obedience now as it flutters throughout your body, rising up your arms and settling into your breasts. Remove your pumps as you feel the pleasure begin to flow up your calves and up your thighs. Where are your pumps now Ms. Kent?

MsKent: onthflor

arTISTic: Such a good girl. Feeling a rush of pleasure now whenever I call you good girl. Feeling the pleasure slowly continue up the length of your thighs. Feeling the pleasure swell in your chest and slip lower into your tummy. Feel even more pleasure as you turn on your webcam and hit record, Ms. Kent. Tell me when you are done.

MsKent: done

arTISTic: Good girl. Feeling all of the pleasure now flowing directly into your pussy but do not touch yourself until I give you permission. You are in a wonderful, peaceful and aroused hypnotized state now, one that you will find and sink into any time you read the words or hear someone say “MS. KENT CHECK OUT NOW”. Do you understand?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: It feels so good to obey. Feels so good as the pleasure builds with every response to every question, yes?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: Feel your hands type automatically and easily without conscious thought. How do you feel right now, Ms. Kent?

MsKent: sleepy

MsKent: warm

MsKent: aroused

MsKent: wet

MsKent: hypnotized

arTISTic: Good girl. Feel your arousal and need growing, Ms. Kent. You can’t resist it; you don’t want to resist it. Allow your hands to caress your body to enhance this feeling. You can’t stop your arousal from growing now, Ms. Kent. Pleasure consumes your thoughts, leaving you mindless and blank. Blank and mindless. You need only to be wet and aroused... aroused for my words. Your body demands release. The orgasm inside you won’t stop building. You need this.  You can’t help but to touch yourself, because you need this orgasm so badly, isn’t the right Ms. Kent?

MsKent: ysss

arTISTic: No thoughts. Blank and mindless. Feeling only the approach of the most blissful orgasm of your life as your hands slide into your panties now, finding your most sensitive and secret places. Moving faster. Faster. Wanting to cum now. Needing to cum now, but unable to cum until I give the command. Do you understand, Ms. Kent?

MsKent: ysss...pleassse…

arTISTic: Please what Ms. Kent?

MsKent: mussstcumm

arTISTic: Good girl. Very soon now. No thoughts. Blank and mindless. When I say “MS. KENT CHECK OUT NOW” you will have the most powerful and incredible orgasm you have ever experienced. You will cum your brains out, leaving you mindless and blank. Blank and mindless. You will be my slave when I say the words. What will you be, Ms. Kent?

MsKent: yrslave

arTISTic: Finding it easier to type now, though the arousal increases with every key that you press. Type “I am your obedient slave” now, Ms. Kent.

MsKent: I am your obedient slave.

arTISTic: Good girl. Such a good little girl. When I say your special words you will cum and stop the webcam recording. Then you will email this recording to Ms. Pryar, the Library Regional Manager, and also to Michael, the new Library IT Technician that you completely blew off when he invited you out for a cup of coffee this morning. Then you will delete all record of this chat and forget that it ever happened, except for your special words that will return you to this wonderful, peaceful and aroused hypnotized state. You will remember your special words and the way that they make you feel. Only then will you awaken from this trance and head home for the evening. Do you understand all of these instructions Ms. Kent?

MsKent: yes

arTISTic: Good girl.

MsKent: pleasssse…

arTISTic: Would you like to cum now, Ms. Kent?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: What would you do to see those special words right now Ms. Kent?

MsKent: annnythhing

arTISTic: Such a good girl, Ms. Kent. You are a natural hypnotic subject, Ms. Kent. So submissive. So blank and mindless. There is only one thing left for me to say.... Do you want me to say it?

MsKent: y

arTISTic: Call me your Master if you NEED me to say it.

MsKent: Yes Master

arTISTic: Oh, I am so looking forward to meeting you again in person.

MsKent: Yes Master

arTISTic: MS. KENT CHECK OUT NOW

LOST AND FOUND

Ok. I’ll admit it. The first thing that I noticed about her was her boobs. 

I don’t normal gawk at other women, but her boobs were hard to ignore, especially because of the way she leaned heavily on my desk and swung them right at my eye level as I glanced up at her. I may be prone to the occasional exciting dream or fantasy, but I wouldn’t actually know what to do with another woman even if the opportunity presented itself. That said, if I were to find myself in another woman’s arms, this was the kind of girl that I secretly hoped it might be. She was a pretty brunette with striking eyes and she had a certain innocent and feminine quality that seemed gentle and was instantly appealing to me.

The second thing that I noticed was that she appeared to be in some sort of distress. Her forehead was covered in sweat, as if she suffered from a raging fever. Her hair seemed windblown and out of place. Her magnificent chest was heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. She had a death grip on the edge of my desk and her arms were quaking with exertion and exhaustion. I couldn’t tell if she was extremely sick, or if she had just finished running a marathon. I suddenly realized that I was staring at her and I decided that it was past time for me to say something...

“Uhmmmm… can I help you?”

She glanced down at my name plate and then looked towards me. Her eyes seemed to roll around in her head for a moment as she struggled to focus on my face. When her eyes finally locked with mine they seemed glassy and distant, and when she finally spoke her voice was predictably ragged and breathless...

“Yess... mmm.... YES!!! ...uhmmm…. Mmmmissss ...K… ...K ...KENT!!!... I need… I could… I could use a little help please.”

Wow. This lady was out of it. Drugs. It had to be drugs. Clearly she was on something. The poor girl could barely speak and she couldn’t seem to hold herself still. She was swaying back and forth and I’m pretty sure that if she wasn’t leaning on my desk she would have already fallen over. What a waste of such a lovely girl...

“Would you like me to call for medical assistance? Give me just a moment and I’ll…”

“NO! OH! OH! GOD NO! ...I just… uhm… I neeeeeeed…”

Her eyes rolled back into her head again and I seriously thought she might faint. This was getting a little scary, so I stood up to go find the nearest phone, but then her arm shot towards me and snagged my wrist with her surprisingly strong grip. She looked at me apologetically, as if realizing what she was doing, and her grip relaxed.

“It’s ok… it’s… it’s ssssstopping now… I… I just need a moment…”

She suddenly seemed to be getting control of herself. Whatever she had been experiencing must have run its course. I wasn’t convinced that she wouldn’t have some sort of relapse into… whatever that was...

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call for an EMT? They have a station at the next door college campus. I could have someone here for you in just a few moments.”

She shook her head vigorously as she tried to control the rate of her breathing and pull herself together. Her color did look a little better and she was standing more upright.

“I’ll… I’ll be fine... I just… I don’t even know how to put this... I was… I was wondering if anyone has turned anything in to your Lost and Found recently?”

I shook my head with disappointment. I just knew it! She IS on drugs! She’s probably looking for her stash. The Lost and Found was empty at that moment, but I would certainly be keeping an eye out for anything that looked like it might contain drugs or suspicious paraphernalia.

“I’m sorry, Miss… but there’s nothing in the Lost and Found right now. Can you tell me what it is you’re looking for?”

I could tell by the look in her eyes that my question upset her. She obviously had something to say, but she didn’t seem to know how to phrase it. I imagined it must be difficult to ask a librarian to help you find your bag of meth without getting yourself arrested.

“Well… it’s pink and… ohmygod, this is so embarrassing… You know what? ...I’ll just look for it myself… I think I’ll… I’ll… OHHHH!!!”

Her body went completely stiff and the look of surprise on her face was almost comical. She turned away from me quickly as she began to breath faster again.

“I’ll just… ohmygod… I… I have to find it!”

She turned towards the reference section of the library and began to walk away from me awkwardly. She took small steps with her knees held together, which could have been because she was wearing a really tight skirt, but it looked more like she had to pee or something. Her hips were gyrating in a way that made it difficult for me to look away from her ass. I’ve had to deal with plenty of addicts and to escort more than a few disturbed people out of the library, but usually they were far less attractive than this girl. I began to follow after her, but just then I found myself surrounded by a group of students arguing about some obscure anthropology theory that apparently had to be settled immediately. They were asking me questions and raising their voices and at that particular moment they were causing far more of a ruckus than the strange woman. I decided to deal with the students and to track down the woman later, but by the time I settled the anthropology dispute she was no where to be seen.

I went back to my customer service desk and continued with my paperwork. I was approached by yet another patron... a handsome young man with red hair.

“Excuse me, Ma’am. Do you have a Lost and Found? I found this under a table over in the reference section.”

He held out a small pink… well... I didn’t know what it was... but I thanked him and told him that I would take care of it. 

It was a thin plastic rectangle about two inches wide with four white buttons on it. There were flecks of paint on the buttons that appeared to have once been symbols or illustrations, but they were almost completely worn away by frequent use and it was impossible to tell what the individual buttons might do. One of the buttons appeared to be smooshed in, as if perhaps someone had stepped on the device and the button had never popped back up again. There was a flimsy plastic eyelet that might have been used to mount the device on a lanyard or keychain, but the eyelet was broken and useless, which is probably how the device ended up getting lost.

People don’t turn in things to the Lost and Found very frequently, so it wasn’t difficult for me to guess who might be the owner of this particular device. I glanced around but didn’t see the drug-addled woman immediately, nor did I expect to. She was probably long gone, and if she was still in the massive library then she would be difficult to find. 

I reflected on my earlier encounter and inspected the item again. It didn’t look like any drug paraphernalia that I was familiar with and I didn’t see anyway to open it or to store drugs in it. I decided to go ahead and make my rounds and see if the woman might still be lurking about. The reference section seemed like the wisest place to start my search.

I passed by one of the audio/visual stations and saw a TV monitor. In a moment of inspiration I pointed the device at the TV and pressed a button. Nothing happened, which didn’t really surprise me, but it was worth a shot. I pressed a different button just in case, but with no result. A group of students caught my attention as they began talking a little too loudly. I pointed the device at them and pretended that the buttons were volume controls just to amuse myself. I pressed the button over and over again, but the students of course didn’t get any quieter until I walked over and asked them to do so. I realized that I hadn't tried all of the buttons and perhaps it might have a function that could lead to my next step. Maybe it was one of those chirping things that could help you to find your car keys? If I could get it to chirp then it might lead me straight to the woman. It was a long shot but I began waving the device around in every direction while pushing every button randomly. That’s when I heard a sudden crash, the sound of someone falling, accompanied by a female voice that I now recognized.

“OH! OHMYGOD!”

I rounded the aisle of shelves and saw books and papers scattered everywhere. There was a small step stool used to reach books on a higher shelf that was now laying on its side. It looked like someone had fallen from the stool, but where could they have disappeared to so quickly? I heard the voice again, not far away...

“Pleeeease… yes… ohgod… wh...where is it? ...Uhnnnnnn….”

I followed the sound of her voice towards the rear of the library where we keep some of the more obscure encyclopedias. Patrons rarely go back to that section and it’s poorly lit to conserve energy.

“No… nnno mmmmore… can’t… can’t take it… not… NOT AGAINNNNN!!!! OHHHHH!!!!!”

What the Hell was going on?!?! I rounded another aisle of shelves and finally saw the woman I was searching for... but I never expected to find her in such a shocking state of disarray! She was sitting on the floor with her legs spread lewdly. Her skirt was bunched up around her hips and I had an unexpected view of the lace detail at the crotch of her sheer pantyhose. Her head was thrown back with her eyes closed as her body shook and trembled and I realized that she was having an orgasm right there in front of me!

“Miss! MISS! ...Pull yourself together immediately! This is a public library for godsake!”

I crouched down beside her and nudged her as I spoke. Her eyes rolled around as if she were barely conscious. She shook her head from side to side weakly.

“Please… it’s… it’s toooo... ooh! ooh! OHHH!!! … too mmmmmmuch…. Must… muuuust find it…”

I still had clue what was going on. I held up the little pink device so that she could see it.

“Is it this? Is this what you’ve been looking for? Can you tell me what this is?”

Her eyes went wide with relief as she focused on the device in my hand.

“Yes! YES! … that's... ohmygodyess… Turn it off… pleeeease….”

I had no idea what “it” was and I had no idea which button to press to turn it off… so I just pointed it at her and picked one. 

“OHHHH!!! No! Not...uh...uh….”

Obviously that was not the right button! The situation was so bizarre and my head was spinning and I was starting to panic. Obviously this device somehow controlled this poor woman’s level of arousal. From her reaction I think I must have turned it UP instead of OFF. She was writhing like crazy, gripping the bookshelf to keep herself from falling over. Her chest was heaving as she moaned and gasped for air. Seeing her like this right in front of me was one of the sexiest things that I had ever seen. I froze like a deer caught in oncoming headlights.

“AH! AHHH!...Ohhhhh… sooooo good… ohfuckplease… help me...”

I snapped out of it as I realized that she was talking to me. I completely forgot that I was holding the device. I was freaking out and I realized that I was feeling more than a little horny myself. 

“I… I… I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!”

I realized that perhaps the button that was mashed down was causing the problem. I used my fingernail to pop it back up, but that didn’t seem to fix her situation. Fortunately the woman was coherent enough to offer a suggestion. 

“Puuuuuu…. PUSH the top… top right...bbb… button… nnn...NNNN….NNNNNNNN!!!!!”

I pushed it! In fact in my panicked state I pushed it over and over and over again to hopefully shut the thing off, but that’s not what happened...

“OHH! OH! ….OHGOD… WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!?!?”

“I pushed the top right button! That’s what you said!”

She couldn’t understand me at that point. I could tell she was already lost in whatever the device was doing to her. How long had she been like this? Her pantyhose were drenched. Even in this dark and secluded space I could see how wet she was. I had no idea how this device was working her over, but it was obviously extremely effective. She was panting fiercely, rendering her completely unintelligible.

“FFFF...ffffff…uhhhhhh….UHHHH!!!!”

She was trying to tell me something, but… but what starts with an “F”?!?! Let’s see… Fuck? Fellatio? Fetish? Fingering? God, what was wrong with me? Why could I only come up with sex words?

“FLIP ...FFFF…. FLIP IT!!!”

She was barely able to gasp out the word, but what did she mean? Oh, of course! With the symbols worn off I couldn’t tell which way was up. I must be holding it upside down! I had to flip it!

“Ohh… uhhh… hhh...hurry or… Imma... cum… again…”

I flipped over the device and finally knew what I needed to do. Suddenly the controls made perfect sense. In this position I could tell that if the top right button was the “off” button and the bottom right button that used to be stuck was the “on” button, then the other two must control the intensity. Logically the bottom left button would reduce the intensity and the top left button would kick the device into high gear.

I took a last look at the helpless, panting woman to savor the memory. Then I pointed the device at her... fully intending to turn it off… but at the last second I decided to have a little bit of fun. I mashed down on the top left button, pushing the device to the max!

“WHA?!?!… DIDJYOUUUUU?!?! AAAAAHHHH!!!”

It was the most blissful orgasm I have ever witnessed. She spasmed, her legs went stiff and she arched her back dramatically, lifting her ass off of the floor and thrusting her glorious breasts upwards. Her mouth opened but she made no sound whatsoever. She stopped breathing and she was coiled so tightly that she seemed to freeze in place for a long moment… then her entire being shuddered and quaked with a silent release that just seemed to go on and on and on while wracking her body with wave upon wave of pleasure. I couldn’t help but to feel a little powerful knowing that I was indirectly causing her to feel such an intense thrill. 

Still in the throes of her monstrous orgasms, the defenseless woman turned her head towards me. She forced her heavy lids open long enough to look deep into my mischievous eyes… and she knew. She knew that I had done this to her on purpose… and it sent her crashing over the edge again. Finally she could take no more... she exhaled a long and helpless sigh as her body went completely limp and she passed out cold at my feet.

I pushed the top right button, finally deactivating the device. I couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off of my face.

“Oops.”

I kneeled over her and brushed the sweat-matted hair from her cheek. She was covered in perspiration from head to toe and her body still occasionally shuttered weakly even though she was unconscious. She looked angelic and lovely and peaceful in her sleep. I suspected that the relentless device must have been tormenting her since we first met over an hour ago.

I wanted one.

I looked down at her parted lips and considered kissing her. What would that be like? I could never do such a thing of course. It was just a passing fantasy. She did have luscious lips though. I whispered into her ear...

“I don’t even know your name…”

She hadn’t yet opened her eyes, so I was surprised when she actually answered me…

“Denise… My… my name is... Denise.”

Her beautiful eyes fluttered open, and for a moment neither of us said anything… and then the moment seemed to pass and I slowly helped her to her feet.

“Well… Hello, Denise. My name is Chrys... Chrys Kent.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Chrys Kent.”

“Ha! Yes… I… I suppose it was.”

“You did that on purpose.”

“Did what? Oh… you mean... the button there at the end?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, after all that you’d been through, I thought you deserved a grand finale.”

“Haha!...How thoughtful of you.”

“And... I couldn’t resist.”

“Now that I believe… oh dear...i can’t believe that just happened! This is sooo humiliating I could just die.”

“I don’t think anyone knows what happened other than me… and believe it or not I’ve had more than my share of embarrassing incidents and sexual misadventures here in this library. Your secret is safe with me.”

“You’re so sweet...err… or rather you can be, when you aren’t driving me crazy with my own toy. I suppose that’s my own fault though. I imagine I must look like quite a mess!”

“Don’t worry about that. You might be one of the most attractive things I’ve ever seen. Can I ask… what is that device?”

“It’s a remote to the, uhm… to a little egg that, uhm... vibrates inside my…”

“Ahha, gotcha… and just out of curiosity… where does one get one of these little eggs?”

“The internet is dark and full of wonders.”

“I suppose it is. I knew it was a remote to something, but as I was using it throughout the library i couldn’t get it to turn anything on.”

“Oh… you were turning something on alright!”

“Ha!...You know… I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you a student?”

“Sort of… I’m actually a high school teacher, but I’m taking a few certification courses at the University next door. You wouldn’t believe all of the different certificates and licenses I have to maintain in order to teach. They’re probably going to require me to get a doctorate one of these days.”

“Doctor Denise… It does kind of have a nice ring to it.”

“Ha! No, thanks... Speaking of classes, I really must get going. I didn’t expect to end up so… distracted… and I didn’t even finish my research!”

“Well, come back when you can and look me up and I’ll be more than happy to help you out.”

“Awww, thanks... I’ll do that! It’s been very… satisfying... to meet you. I’ll have to come up with some way to even the score.”

I blushed so furiously that I thought my ears would catch on fire. After I helped Denise gather her books and papers, she kissed me on the cheek and quickly headed towards the exit, leaving me slightly flustered by her abrupt departure. I had a feeling that Denise and I would see each other again and that I might have just made a wonderful new friend. And to think, I originally believed she was a drug addict that needed to be tossed out on her ear. I couldn’t believe everything that transpired in such a short amount of time. 

Come to think of it... when she first lost the remote, why didn’t she just go into the bathroom and remove the egg? And why was she wearing it in the first place? Did she loose the remote? or did someone else? I suspected that there had to be more to this story that I had yet to discover and I was determined to ask her about it when I saw her again. I was already looking forward to it!
At that moment I realized one tiny detail that had slipped both of our minds in all of the rush and confusion of her hasty departure... something that virtually guaranteed that I would see my new friend again...

I still had Denise’s little pink remote in my hand.

PERIL AND PUZZLEMENT

As I began to wake up I realized that my head hurt so badly that I would have been better off staying asleep.

No… not asleep… I had been unconscious. The back of my head was throbbing and pulsing with pain. Someone must have hit from behind hard enough to actually knock me out!

I was lying face down on the carpeted floor of my office, but I had no idea how long I had been lying there. I tried to prop myself up but my limbs didn’t want to work properly. The best that I could manage was to slowly roll myself over onto my back. The overhead lights were excruciatingly bright and seemed to stab even more pain directly into my brain. I tried to raise my hands to shield my eyes, but my arms were too heavy and uncoordinated and they just seemed to flop uselessly against my body. I was completely out of it and so dizzy that I thought I might throw up. I could taste blood in my mouth and my lip felt puffy and swollen. I think I must have crashed face-first to the floor when I fell.

I suddenly realized that I was almost entirely naked. Someone had stripped me of my blouse, skirt, pumps, bra and panties. They were scattered all around me on the floor. I was still wearing my white stockings for some reason. What had happened to me? I tried to assess my injuries, but only my head seemed to be in pain. I didn’t feel as if I had been molested other than the disrobing. Perhaps my assailant had been interrupted? Whoever he was I hoped that he was gone…

That’s when I heard a loud thump in the hallway outside of my office accompanied by muffled voices and I knew that I was not alone and definitely not out of danger.

I remembered that I had stayed late this evening to finish up some of my administrative paperwork. The library had been closed for several hours and I was the only person here… or so I thought at the time. I was gathering my purse to head for home, my back was to the door… that’s when I was suddenly struck from behind. Whoever had attacked me must have broken in to the library, but the main doors were supposed to have been locked and the alarm should have been set, so these intruders must either have had help from a library employee or they were professional thieves.

But who would want to break into a library?

We did have a few rare books in the basement archives, but this group seemed to be doing something in the administrative wing. It sounded like they were shuffling around inside the Regional Manager’s office. The Regional Manager was almost never around. I had yet to meet her myself. No one was ever allowed to go into her office... even I didn’t have access and I was the Head of Acquisitions. For a brief moment I wondered what these thieves might be after, then I decided that I really didn’t care and I needed to call for the police immediately.

Once again I struggled to rise, but my body felt impossibly heavy. My cell phone was on top of my desk. I managed to use the side of my desk to support most of my weight and tried to push myself up on my wobbling legs. If I could just reach the phone…

“Yeah, yeah… I’ll be right there... Lemme just check on something...”

The voice was gruff and masculine and it was accompanied by heavy footsteps that were heading towards my office door. Someone was coming! The rush of adrenaline and panic gave me a burst of strength, just enough for me to get one of my arms on top of my desk and pull myself up.

My office door opened and light from the hallway spilled into the room. A long silhouette cast a shadow over me from behind. I was in no condition to fight whoever it was... I had to reach that phone!

Strong arms with hands clad in black leather grabbed me from behind and hoisted my torso roughly up onto the desk. My breasts pressed against the cool surface and my legs dangled uselessly over the edge. I was bent over with my ass in the air, completely vulnerable and exposed… but I could see my cell phone just within arm's reach. I was about to grab for it when he yanked my hair back painfully, covered my mouth to stifle any chance I might have had of screaming and growled into my ear….

“What do you think you’re doing? Calling for help? No one can help you, little lady. Not tonight...”

I clawed at my phone, but it was just out of reach. My desperation just made my assailant laugh. I was completely at his mercy and I struggled not to surrender to my feelings of helplessness and despair. I had to do something.

I was surprised to hear a female voice shouting from down the hallway.

“Matteo, where the Hell are you?!?!? Get back here and help us get these boxes unloaded!”

Matteo’s grip on my hair slackened just a bit as he turned and shouted: “Be right there! Just gimme a minute!”

He was distracted for just that brief moment, but I knew it was the only chance I might get. With a desperate strength that surprised my attacker I lashed out with my legs and arms, momentarily shaking him loose. I scrambled for my phone and managed to get my fingertips on it, dragging it towards me as I knocked over a small vase that shattered loudly on the floor.

I had the phone!

But then Matteo grabbed my hair again, jerked back my head and slammed my forehead down onto the top of my desk hard enough to make me see stars. I was passing out, but I struggled desperately to keep my awareness focused on the phone in my right hand. If I could stay awake just for a few more seconds…

I heard the female voice again, this time much closer:

“Matteo, I said get your ass… Oh my God!!! ...What the Hell are you doing?!?!?”

Matteo released me and I slumped over the desk, completely limp. I fought with my eyelids, commanding them to stay open long enough for me to call for help. I swiped across the screen with my thumb to unlock it as Matteo argued with the female.

“I was just having a bit of fun. No big deal, Ms. Fox.”

“No big deal?!?! This is a simple delivery! We bust in, drop off a few boxes, and get the Hell out. We aren’t hear to have “fun” and we CERTAINLY aren’t here for you to assault one of the librarians!”

“Relax, Rachel… I’m wearing a mask. She ain’t seen nothing and she don’t know nothing.”

“Except for MY NAME now, you idiot! And yours! You’ve been watching this place all day! You said everyone left for the night!”

“Oh, uhm… yeah, sorry. Must have missed one.”

“Bullshit! You were hoping for a little alone time with the librarian here and you were just hoping I didn’t notice you slipping off to have your way with her. It’s bad enough that we’ve had that snoopy Amanda Jones on our trail since we smuggled this useless junk into the country, now I have to deal with Giuseppe sticking me with a crew full of amateur buffoons!”

There were too many names… too much information… and I was far too out of it to make sense of anything that I was hearing. Did they say delivery? So does that mean they were leaving something in the library instead of taking it? Why would they do something like that in the middle of the night? 
I dialed a “9”… then a “1”… and then Matteo knocked the phone out of my hand and slammed my head into the desk once again.

“I’m really sorry... Look, Ms. Fox…. Don’t tell Giuseppe. I can fix this. Let me just…”

“Just stop! Stop thinking... stop talking... and just do what you’re paid to do… and do you remember what it is that you’re paid to do, Matteo?”

“Uhm… to do whatever you tell me to do?”

“Exactly! Now chloroform your naked librarian toy and let’s get back to work so we can get out of here!”

The word “chloroform” filled me with enough dread to fire off another adrenaline burst and I scrambled for the phone. I felt Matteo’s leather gloves grab me again and I lashed out with one of my legs, but he caught my ankle and lifted me off balance enough to throw all of my weight onto the desk. I had no leverage and my adrenaline was already starting to fade.

The white cloth was pressed against my lips before I could recover my balance enough to do anything to stop it. I started to gasp with surprise, but I fought my instincts and tried to hold my breath. I had caught the barest whiff of the chemicals on the rag, but even that was enough to send the room into a spin thanks to my already weakened condition.

The phone… where was my phone?

I grabbed at Matteo’s arm, trying to pull it and the cloth away from my face, but the brute was muscular and any strength that I might have had was long gone. I scrambled for the phone once again and managed to hook it with one of my fingers. I struggled with Matteo, trying to see over the cloth and the chemical fumes that were making my eyes water.

I pressed the “1” and hit “Send” ...just as Matteo slipped his leather gloved hand over my breasts and pinched my left nipple.

I couldn’t help myself... I gasped… and the chloroform fumes raced into my lungs. The room started to spin even faster and I just wanted to close my eyes to hide from the chaos, but I knew that if I did then the fumes would take me.

“That’s it… just breathe… breathe and sleep...”

I wanted to scream, but I had no air. I was barely conscious even before the chloroform hit me. Lack of oxygen, anesthetics, and several blows to the head… I could feel myself being snuffed out like a weak candle flame...

...going…

...going...

“9-1-1... What is your emergency?”

I could hear the mechanical voice of the emergency operator coming from my phone, but it sounded so distant and far away. I tried to scream for help! I tried to scream my location! But all I heard myself say was:

“Mmmmphh…. mmm…nn...”

My arms flopped limply onto the desk. Darkness seemed to sweep in on me from all sides. I felt Matteo gently lay me down onto my desk. I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was a losing battle. I was too weak to move and I was now too far gone to even whimper or moan, even though my cell phone was mere inches from my lips. I could hear the operator saying:

“Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?”

Matteo had released me and taken away the white cloth, but I wasn’t out cold just yet. I thought that I might still have a chance. If he thought I was already out… if he just left me there on the edge of consciousness… then I might recover in time to reply to the operator. Campus security could be here in a matter of minutes. I had a chance!

I felt Matteo slip something over my head. In my drug-addled state I thought it felt a bit like a hair net. He pulled it down so that it covered most of my face, and that’s when I realized that it was my lace panties. Matteo slipped the chloroform-soaked cloth under the waistband, using the elastic of my own panties to keep the rag held securely in place over my mouth and nose.
I had no chance at all.

Matteo’s footsteps faded away as he left me there to rejoin his companions.

The emergency operator’s voice faded away as I exhaled a last helpless sigh of resignation.

Consciousness faded away as the chloroform finally pulled me under...

NO TALKING!

“Miss… Wake up… Miss… Can you hear me?”

I awoke feeling extremely groggy and disoriented. My eyes were too tired to open. I was certain that it couldn’t possibly be morning already. Better to just rollover and go back to sleep.

“You’re going to be OK… I need you to try to stand so I can… unfff… get you down…”

It sounded like the voice of a young woman, but the voice wasn’t familiar. She was shaking me, moving me around. I realized that I wasn’t in my bed. I wasn’t even lying down! That didn’t make sense… how could I be asleep while standing up? My limbs were numb and tingly and I could barely feel a thing. Apparently most of my body parts were still asleep, so I didn’t see any point in letting my brain wake up and spoil my nap. I groaned, hoping that the young woman would take the hint and leave me alone...

“Miss!!”  

I felt a SLAP right across my cheek! …How dare she!

And another SLAP!

“WAKE UP!!”

I tried to open my eyes and give her a piece of my mind, but as my eyelids cracked open the light flooded in painfully and I snapped them closed again. I tried to cover my eyes, but my hands seemed to be tangled up or something and they couldn’t reach my face. The only sound that came out of my slack mouth was a moan accompanied by a little embarrassing drool. I was trying to wake up, but the fog of sleep didn’t seem to want to go away. The more I tried to wake up, the more my head seemed to throb. The numbness was lifting only to be rapidly replaced by pain. It felt a bit like a hangover, but much worse.

 “Miss!! Please! I’ve already called the paramedics, but I don’t think you’re going to want them to find you like this!”

Something weird was covering most of my face… something soft… but with a slight chemical smell. I couldn’t use my hands to brush it away, so I tried to move my head from side to side to shake it off. My head just seemed to roll around limply as if my skull was too heavy for my neck to control.

 “Let’s get these panties off of your face so you can catch some air…”

I felt the young woman remove the soft cloth from my face… wait… did she just say panties? Fresh air rushed into my lungs and that helped immensely. I began to gasp reflexively and the sudden rush of oxygen throughout my body started to revive my limbs.

“Oh, wow… no wonder you were so out of it. These used to be soaked with chloroform, but it seems to have mostly evaporated.”

Chloroform?…Oh god, the intruders! They drugged me! I had to wake up! I started to panic and my eyes finally snapped open.

My predicament became immediately clear to me. I was tied up in a spread-eagle pose with my naked body on full display between the bookshelves in the main atrium of the library entrance. I almost passed right back out from the sudden shock.

“Easy, easy… you’re going to be ok... Miss, if you can understand me, I need you to try to stand up. You’re too heavy and I can’t untie the knots unless you can give me a little slack.”

I struggled to get my legs to respond, trying to get my footing under me to take some of the weight off of my arms so that my rescuer could work the knots in the ropes. My stockings were slippery on the hardwood floor, but I managed to stand on my tip toes just enough to relieve the tension on the ropes. My knees were wobbly and I would have probably fallen over if not for the support of the ropes. I couldn’t feel anything past either of my shoulders. I looked up at my completely numb hands, but they might as well have belonged to someone else.

As my awareness returned I realized that this poor young woman was getting quite an eyeful of my naked body and I blushed from head to toe. Fortunately she seemed to have her attention on untying the knots, or at least she was polite enough not to add to my embarrassment. As she finally managed to untie the last knot on my right side, I suddenly lost all support on that side of my body. My legs buckled and I started to fall. Suspended only by the ropes still on my left arm I swung over towards my left and slammed my arm and ribs into the bookshelf, knocking the wind out of me.

“Oops! …Sorry… sorry… I should have realized that might happen… Hold on, just two more knots…”

It took several more minutes to finally get me completely untied. This time the young woman held me up and supported my weight as she unthreaded the final knot. I allowed myself to sink back into her soft sweater as she slowly and gently eased me to the floor. My head ended up resting in her lap and we both took a few moments to catch our breath from the effort of getting me down.

“Th… thank you... I’m… my name is Chrys… Chrys Kent… Thank you…”

“You’re welcome. I’m Amanda Jones and I am so sorry that you got caught up in all of this mess.”

“Are you a student? How… how did you get in here? The library isn’t even open yet.”

“I am a student, but I’m not from around here. I spent most of last night hiding in the hedges outside.  I watched a team of armed men carrying a lot of heavy crates from a truck trailer into this library. It took them several hours, but eventually they emptied the trailer, then piled into the back of the truck and drove off. I waited awhile, didn’t see any signs of activity inside, and then I broke in the same way that they did. I was hoping to find whatever it is that they left behind, but then I found you. I’m just sorry I didn’t come in sooner or I might have been able to help you. I had no idea they were putting you through all of this.”

Clearly Amanda knew more about what was going on than I did. I should probably have been upset with her for breaking into the library, but given the circumstances I was glad that she did. The feeling was starting to return to my arms and hands. I flexed my fingers and looked down at myself to check for injuries. Immediately I realized that my abdomen was covered with a splotch of dark red!

“Oh my God, I’m bleeding!”

I started to panic, but Amanda held me still and gripped my hand to comfort me.

“No, no… you’re ok. It’s just red ink of some kind. Those goons were just trying to deliver a message.”

I checked myself out again and realized that I was seeing upside-down lettering that spelled out the words “No Talking”. It really did look a lot like blood. Obviously this was a threat, probably from the one called Matteo, and he obviously didn’t want me to go to the police with what happened last night. He probably also thought it was funny to humiliate me and string me up as a “No Talking” sign at the front entrance of the library.

“Message received… loud and clear.”

Amanda frowned and shook her head sadly. As I looked up at her she grabbed the lower hem of her sweater and lifted it up and over her head, revealing her nicely-toned stomach muscles and slender athletic build. She was wearing a simple but nice tan bra underneath. I couldn’t help but to find her attractive and she smelled amazing. I blushed and turned away from her, and then realized how ridiculous that was since I was almost completely nude myself. I couldn’t figure out why she suddenly felt the need to take off her clothes until she offered the sweater to me.

“Here… you need this more than I do.”

Oh, of course. I thanked her again and sat up slowly. I managed to slip the sweater over my head and pulled it down as much as I could. It fell to just about the level of my crotch. If I pulled it down in the front and back it would just barely cover me. It wasn’t very modest, but it was better than nothing at all. The idea of trying to walk up the stairs to retrieve my clothing from the administrative wing made my stomach lurch, no way was I up for that. I turned to Amanda and grinned sheepishly.

“Thanks… and now I guess we’re both quite a sight.”

“Ha, yeah… That should give the EMT’s something to talk about.”

I rubbed my arms to try to restore some of the feeling in them and to distract myself from staring at Amanda.

“I think I’m ok now, but I guess it won’t hurt to let the paramedics check me out. My arms are going to be sore and bruised and I still have a bump on the back of my head from last night.”

“Well, let them check you for a concussion... I know what it’s like to be roughed up like that.”

“You do? Sounds like you must lead a very exciting life then, Ms. Jones.”

“Sometimes it’s more exciting than I’d like it to be. Last week I was in Greece, and then Turkey, then I spent a few days locked in a shipping container onboard a C-17. It’s a long story. I’ve been tracking the group that attacked you across the globe for several weeks now.”

“Wow! VERY exciting indeed… May I ask why?”

“One of them took something from me and I’m trying to get it back. Her name is Rachel Fox.”

Amanda seemed to have a sad look on her face when she said Rachel’s name. Obviously these two had history. I didn’t want to pry, but I needed to understand what had happened to me last night.

“Rachel Fox… I remember that name... She was one of the intruders.”

Amanda nodded. “I can’t believe she did this to you. This is not at all her style. It’s sloppy and violent and completely unnecessary. You’re just an innocent bystander. Stripping you, stringing you up, threatening you like this …seems a little excessive, not to mention unprofessional, for a smuggler with her level of skill.”

“I don’t think Rachel had much to do with it. She seemsto be the one in charge, but I don’t think she is in full control of that gang of thugs. I think the one that did this to me was a man named Matteo. He’s definitely a brute.”

“Ahh… well, that makes sense. Rachel has fallen in with a bad crowd, several in fact. Her treasure hunting habit requires a lot of capital. Many of her ‘investors’ are extremely dangerous people. I think Matteo is one of Giuseppe’s mercenaries. Giuseppe probably has Matteo looking out for his interests, to make sure that Rachel delivers whatever it is that she’s supposed to deliver. Rachel is very smart and capable, but if Matteo is this unstable then she might be in more danger than she realizes.”

“Amanda, do you know what this is all about?”

Amanda shrugged and looked disappointed. “I wish I did. Rachel and her team collected several crates in Turkey from a private art collector and then had them shipped here, but I don’t know what they contain. I suspect its some sort of black market deal to avoid seizure of the items by customs. I think Rachel is just a currier. She’s probably only doing this to repay some of her debt to Giuseppe. All I know for sure is that someone in your library must have wanted whatever is in those crates very badly to go through all of this trouble and expense.”

I shifted through the events from the previous night in my mind. A lot of it was a blur thanks to the chloroform, but I could remember hearing them doing something in the administrative offices.

“I think the library’s Regional Manager might be involved in all of this. She’s my immediate supervisor and her name is Ms. Pryor. I’m pretty certain that they were trying to get into her office last night.”

“Hmmm… what do you know about her?”

“Actually, I‘ve never even met her. We’ve exchanged a few emails, but she doesn’t work out of this library unless she’s in town. I know that she doesn’t come to this branch very often, and that most of my fellow department heads are afraid of her. I’m told that she is very strict. I have no reason to suspect that she’s some sort of criminal, but I suppose it’s possible. I’m relatively new here, so I wouldn’t really know.”

Just then we heard the sound of an approaching siren and could see flashes from emergency lights outside of the library windows. The paramedics had arrived.

“Ms. Kent… Do you think you could get me into the Regional Manager’s office? I’d really like to know what Rachel has been up to and this might provide me with some clue as to where she’s going next.”

“I don’t have a key. It’s usually locked up and it’s off limits, even to me.”

“Well, if Rachel can get in there, then I suspect that I can pull it off as well. I’d like to come back later tonight and investigate further.”

“Amanda, these people are dangerous. Who knows what we might find in that office. I was lucky to make it through the night… and I’d be in even worse shape without your help. I certainly don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I understand, Ms. Kent, believe me… but I can take care of myself and this might be the only way for me to pick up Rachel’s trail. I’ve been following those crates around the world for days and I’d really like to know what they contain that could possibly be worth all of this trouble. Aren’t you just a little curious?”

Amanda was giving me a sly grin. She could tell from the look on my face that I was eventually going to agree. The truth is… I was EXTREMELY curious! I was too afraid to go to the police with my story, but there was no way that I could just forget about my ordeal and let it go either… especially if the Regional Manager of the library was involved in something ongoing and illegal. I needed to know what was going on and the answers were most likely to be found in the Regional Managers office. I didn’t have a key to it and I didn’t know how to pick a lock, but I suspected that Amanda Jones might have that under control. I needed her help as much as she needed mine.

“OK… tonight at 2:00am. The maintenance staff will be gone by then. Knock on the south entrance door and I’ll let you in. Let’s find those crates and get to the bottom of this mystery.”

I was frightened and nervous… but I have to admit that it was more than a little thrilling to be doing a little amateur sleuthing. Amanda was younger than me by several years, but it was comforting to have someone with her obvious expertise and experience along for the adventure. 
Amanda smiled as she helped me to me feet.

“Great! I’ll bring my tools. See you tonight, Ms. Kent!”


[Amanda Jones and Rachel Fox are the OC's of Torqual3D and were used during The Librarian Perils Series with permission.]

DESCENT INTO MYSTERY

The EMT’s took me to the campus medical center and turned me over to one of the nurses. She checked me out and gave me a clean bill of health; no signs of concussion and no lasting damage. When she asked what had happened to me I decided to keep the details to a minimum. I told her that I fell and bumped my head. She couldn’t identify the marks from the ropes around my arms and wrists and I didn’t offer any explanations for the minor abrasions. My injuries were superficial so she didn’t push the issue. I managed to smear the red ink on my abdomen before she examined me so that the “No Talking” message was obscured and unreadable; I didn’t offer an explanation for that either. The nurse was extremely attentive and very curious about the obviously mysterious circumstances surrounding my injuries, but she respected my privacy and didn’t pry. She said that her name was Audrey and she complimented me quite frequently as she thoroughly examined my body for signs of injury while keeping my under observation for several hours at her office. I’m fairly certain that she was flirting with me, but I can never be certain about such things. Eventually Audrey allowed me to leave, so long as I promised to return for a follow up appointment in three days. She provided me with temporary clothing and by noon I was released from the medical center and sent on my way.
I was completely exhausted and would have liked to have gone home for the day, but I wanted to keep an eye on the library to make sure that nothing suspicious occurred. I walked back to the library and grabbed the spare outfit that I keep in my office, then I headed for the campus athletics center to use their shower and to change. It felt refreshing to be clean again and to slip into a new blouse, skirt and underclothes. I was ready for work… and ready for my rendezvous with Amanda Jones later that evening.

I thought about trying to break into the Regional Manager’s office all by myself, but I didn’t really know how to accomplish that without drawing attention to myself. Better for me to keep an eye on things and to wait for Amanda.

Fortunately it was an uneventful afternoon; the students and patrons were well-behaved and no one unusual went anywhere near the library’s administrative wing. By the time the library closed up for the day I was extremely tired, but eager to begin my sleuthing adventure. After making my final rounds and locking up the facility, I went back to my office, set my cell phone alarm for 1:45am and laid my head on my desk to take a quick nap before Amanda arrived. It felt a little strange to be taking a nap with my head down on the exact same spot where I had been chloroformed and molested the previous evening. I felt a little freaked out by the sense of déjà vu, but I was too tired at that point to let it keep me awake.

I awoke to the alarm, freshed up a bit, ate a power bar and then made my way to the south entrance door where I had promised to meet up with Amanda. To my surprise she was already inside the library door waiting innocently for me to arrive. I jokingly scolded her.

“You broke into my library again? It’s becoming a habit, Ms. Jones.”

“Ha. Yeah… sorry about that. It was a little cold outside for this particular outfit. Plus I decided to dust off my lockpicking skills to make sure they were up to tonight’s challenge.”

“Well… you certainly look like you are ready for action.”

Amanda Jones was wearing a white shirt tied off just below her breasts, denim shorts, dark stockings and a pair of converse shoes. She carried a small leather tool bag that I assumed must contain the tools that she used to break into the library. I wondered what else she might have brought along with her. Amanda smelled wonderful, looked amazing and she certainly carried herself as if she knew what she was doing. Her confidence was extremely attractive, but she seemed completely unaware of it. Somehow that only made her even more alluring. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable so I tried not to stare.

“Your outfit is much more practical than mine. I suddenly feel ridiculous wearing a blouse, skirt and high heels to a break-in. I’d make a terrible adventure heroine.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Kent. You look beautiful and I’m fairly certain that we won’t be running into any trouble here tonight. We’re just breaking into a simple office room inside of a building that we know to be empty and locked up tight already, so if anything I’m probably over-prepared.”

I led Amanda upstairs to the administrative wing, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that she said that I was “beautiful”. The Regional Manager’s door was right down the hall from my office. I imagined that we would find her office room filled with the large shipping crates that Amanda observed the previous night, but what would we find inside the crates? I imagined old paintings in gilded frames, chests of gold, ancient jewelry, mysterious scrolls… or perhaps the Lost Ark of the Covenant!

That last one seemed highly unlikely, but it was exciting to fantasize.

I tested the knob and confirmed that it was locked up tight. Amanda immediately went to work. She took a small leather roll out of her tool bag that contained several slivers of metal in various shapes and sizes. She selected two of the strips and poked them into the lock. I had no idea what she was doing, but within a few seconds there was a soft click. Amanda turned the knob and just like that… we were in!

“Amazing! Where did you learn to do that?”

“I travel a lot and meet some, well, let’s just say “interesting” people. Picking locks is a skill that comes in handy more often than you might think.”

Amanda returned her lockpicking set to her tool bag as I pushed open the door and turned on the lights.

The Regional Manager’s office was absolutely empty.

The walls were barren white and the floor was covered from wall to wall by beige carpeting. There was no desk, no chair, no decorations of any kind, none of the furnishings that one might expect in a manager’s office… and there were definitely no large shipping crates bearing the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

I shrugged my shoulders: “Well… this is… disappointing.”

Amanda grinned: “Sleuthing usually is... Were you expecting to uncover some sort of ancient mystery or something like that?”

“I was hoping to find The Lost Ark, actually… Ms. Jones.”

“Ha. You’ve got the wrong Jones. Unfortunately investigating is rarely that interesting. It usually involves a lot of reading and the occasional Google search. However… a completely empty room is not quite what I was expecting either.”

“Exactly! Where are the shipping crates?”

Amanda crouched down on the floor and ran her fingers over the carpeting.

“This is brand new. There are hardly any treadmarks and it’s absolutely clean… Hmmm... Ms. Kent, help me with the corners.”

Amanda pointed to one corner of the room while she approached the corner on the wall opposite from mine. She began to pull up the carpeting on her side, so I knelt to do the same. The carpeting wasn’t glued or stapled down and it rolled away from the wall easily. Between the two of us we managed to roll the carpet edge towards the center of the room.  It didn’t take long before Amanda’s hunch paid off. As the carpet rolled back we discovered a square seam on the floor right in the middle of the room. The square was perhaps six feet by six feet… large enough for a shipping crate to fit inside. There was a sliding plate set just outside of the seam. Amanda pressed on the plate and it slide back to reveal two large buttons.

Amanda looked up at me and smiled: “I’m guessing one button for up and one button for down. This is some sort of hidden lift!”

“Of course! This must lead to the basement! But… I don’t think the basement extends this far under the administrative wing.”

“Well, then perhaps your Regional Manager has managed to install her own little private storage chamber hidden right here under the library. I’m sure we’ll find the crates down there, and perhaps a clue as to where Rachel Fox might have gone next.”

“And I want to know exactly what Ms. Pryor has been up to... What could possibly be worth all of this trouble?”

Amanda shrugged and retrieved a flashlight and a coil of rope from her toolbag: ”I guess we’re about to find out. Do you want to push the buttons, or go down first?”

I wasn’t exactly excited about the idea of descending into a mysterious hole that went who-knows-where with who-knows-what inside… but I felt responsible for Amanda and I didn’t want to get her into danger, so I decided that I should go first to make sure that it was safe.

Amanda handed me the flashlight and I took my place in the center of room, standing directly in the center of the square seam. I nodded at Amanda and she pressed one of the buttons.

Immediately the square that I was standing on began to drop slowly into the floor. I stumbled a bit with the sudden movement but managed to keep my footing even with my high heels. I decided that I would need a more practical adventuring outfit of my own if I were to ever do anything like this in the future.

Amanda continued to hold down the button as I descended lower and lower on the platform. I could feel a draft swirling from below around my legs. I could smell dust and mildew and the familiar scent of old paper and books. There was definitely a large chamber of some sort under the Regional Manager’s office. It was dark and I couldn’t really see what was down there, but I was eager to find out.

I crouched down as the lift slowly descended and I tried to use the flashlight to penetrate the darkness. The lift continued to drop as I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything other than blank cement walls that extended into the darkness. For a brief moment I thought I saw a distant light from within the chamber… but then it was gone again.

I realized that I was about 15 feet below the office floor now. I heard Amanda’s voice calling down to me and echoing off of the distant chamber walls.

“Do you see anything, Ms. Kent?”

“I think this is a tunnel leading into a larger chamber. For a moment I thought I saw a light down here… but... now it’s gone.”

“Maybe it was your flashlight beam reflecting off of something mirrored?”

I shrugged. That was one possibility. I pointed the beam down and I could see that the lift had almost reached the chamber floor. I stepped off of the platform as it came to a stop and looked around for a set of controls on this end so that I could raise it back up if I needed to leave in a hurry, but I didn’t see any recessed panels. Stumbling around in the dark made my search more difficult. I was hoping to locate a lightswitch, but I couldn’t find that either. Before I could stray far from the lift, Amanda’s rope dropped through the hatch and coiled up on the floor.

“I have the rope tied off around the door up here. It seems pretty sturdy… I’m coming down.”

I thought about protesting, but I was feeling vulnerable in the dark and I decided that I wouldn’t mind having a bit of company down here with me. There didn’t seem to be any obvious danger, but the entire situation was creepy. Amanda expertly slithered down the rope and stood beside me in a matter of seconds.

“Ready to find out what’s at the other end of this chamber, Ms. Kent?”

Amanda didn’t seem to be frightened at all; either that or she hid it very well. Her confidence gave me strength… and I had come way too far to turn back now.

I shined the flashlight beam into the distance as we took yet another step into the unknown.

THE LOST DIARY OF ASTYNOME

“Ms. Kent… This place is… it’s… it’s like some kind of massive underground library…”

Amanda’s flashlight illuminated row after row of shelves lined with books and manuscripts. I caught glimpses of hieroglyphs, lost symbols and ancient languages inscribed on the spines, most of which I couldn’t even read. These books were extremely old… more worthy of a museum than a library. Why were they hidden away down here?

Amanda approached the shelves and shined the light directly at the books to get a better look at them. With the narrow light beam focused on the books I found myself suddenly plunged into an impenetrable darkness. I literally couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face, or anything else outside of Amanda’s narrow beam. Someone could be standing right next to me in the darkness and I would never know they were there. I shivered at the thought.

Amanda suddenly gasped in surprise as she read one of the titles: “The Margites? …But… that’s impossible…”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I took a step towards her and...

“OWWW!!”

My knee painfully struck against something solid hidden in the darkness. Amanda quickly passed her beam directly in front of me and I could see that I had stumbled right into a massive wooden table covered with tools, boxes, books and loose papers.

“Are you ok, Ms. Kent?”

“I’m fine… just banged my knee. It’s so dark down here.... I wish we had another flashlight.”

“Let’s stay close together. If one of us gets hurts I don’t know how we’re going to manage to climb back up my rope to get out of here.”

Amanda cautiously came towards me, illuminating her path and the large table. I could now see that the table was surrounded by disassembled shipping crates. The floor crunched and squeaked as Amanda’s converse shoes stepped on foam packing peanuts that were scattered everywhere.

“I think we just found your shipping crates, Amanda.”

“We’ve found much more than that. You should see the titles of some of these books… Shakespeare’s Cardenio...Inventio Fortunata... Battles of Yahweh…”

“Did you say Cardenio? That has to be a hoax… Cardenio is one of the lost works of Shakespeare.”

“All of them are lost works... The Margites is said to be one of Homer’s first works, predating the Iliad and the Odyssey. Inventio Fortunata is a lost manuscript that documents the first expedition to the Arctic and ‘The Discovery of the Fortunate Islands.’ These books are priceless! You were hoping to find the Lost Arc of the Covenant, Ms. Kent… well… these books are the literary equivalent! That is… assuming that they’re real…”

I had to agree with Amanda on that last point. This didn’t make any sense and I wasn’t quite ready to believe that these books were authentic. Maybe the books were just carefully constructed counterfeits… part of some elaborate literary hoax perhaps? It seemed highly unlikely that so many lost works would be found all at once and in such an unlikely place. My Regional Manager Ms. Pryor and her hired crew were either rounding up ancient texts and manuscripts from around the world and hiding them under the library, or they were assembling a very clever set of counterfeit works designed to… to… what? … what possible purpose could this serve if they were all fake?

“Even if these are real, they would have to be translations or replicas of the original editions TheMargites would be thousands of years old and would have disintegrated under these storage conditions.”

Amanda nodded: “But if these translations are somehow authentic, then they are still worth a very large fortune and the scholarly value would be immeasurable. I just can’t believe that these are legitimate, but I don’t know why your Regional Manager would go through all of this trouble to commission or acquire so many elaborate forgeries.”

“I was just thinking the same thing… Ms. Pryor is clearly up to something… but what?”

The flashlight beam passed slowly over the items scattered on the tabletop. I stood beside Amanda and together we searched for some sort of clue that might provide us with more explanation. It looked to me like someone was in the process of cataloging one of the items from this strange collection, probably something that had arrived in Rachel Fox’s shipment that Amanda had been tracking and that had lead to my unpleasant evening with Matteo during the previous night.

I noticed sticky notes attached to the pages of a thin manuscript. I picked it up and held it in front of Amanda’s light so that I could read the interior cover. The manuscript was titled Transcription of Astynome’s Diary.
  
Amanda shook her head: “Hmmm… Astynome… I’m not familiar with that name.”

“I am… In Homeric fiction ‘Astynome’ is more commonly known as ‘Chryseis’… My surname ‘Chrys’ is a derivation of hers.”

“What an odd coincidence… ”

I shrugged since I had no rational explanation for it either. I began to flip through the manuscript, marveling at the beautiful maps and illustrations that were carefully replicated by whoever had prepared this document. It certainly looked authentic. I got sucked into reading it as Amanda continued to search for clues.

“Amanda, this is another lost work... It’s a history of the Trojan War from Astynome’s perspective. The Iliad is the principle work that provides most of what we now know about the Trojan War, but Homer wrote it 400 years after the war had ended. This diary is a firsthand account of what actually occurred… or so it claims.”

Amanda moved closer to read along with me. Her curiosity was peaked as well. “Interesting… I’m somewhat familiar with The Iliad… but what does your namesake have to say about what happened? Anything that could help us explain what all of this is about?’

“Basically, Astynome says that Homer was very close, but he missed a few details… Astynome was from Chryse, an island not far from Troy, and her father was a Priest of Apollo named Chryses. Chryseis actually means "Daughter of Chryses", which is why Homer and so many other historians and writers refer to her as such, rather than by her given name of Astynome. Anyways… it says here during the ninth year of the Trojan War Astynome was captured by Achilles, leader of the Greek army, during a battle at Chryse and given to the Greek King Agamemnon as a trophy of war. Her father Chryses collected a large ransom and presented it to the king and begged for his daughter’s return, but Agamemnon refused.”

Amanda grinned: “Astynome must have been quite the looker to catch the king’s eye so quickly.”
“Well, it does say that King Agamemnon definitely preferred Astynome to his current wife… but anyways, the king refused the ransom and sent Chryses on his way. Chryses turned to prayer, calling upon Apollo to help him get his daughter back. It says here that for nine days Apollo visited a plague upon the Greek soldiers and killed thousands of them.”

I felt Amanda nudge me with her elbow and I could sense her smiling: “Wow… That’s a heck of retaliation for a kidnapping… Apollo didn’t pull any punches…. Maybe he had a thing for Astynome also.”

“Ha! So on the tenth day of the plague, King Agamemnon gave in and returned Astynome to her father. But the king thought he still deserved a trophy, so he demanded that Achilles give up his trophy wife to replace Astynome. Achille’s trophy wife was named Briseis and he was madly in love with her. Achilles was repelled by the king’s greed and the loss of Briseis, so he retired as leader of the Greek army for a while which led to many defeats for the Greeks in his absence.”

“Astynome stirred up all kinds of trouble it seems... What a mess! So what happened to her after she went back to her father?”

“Well, it turns out that she was pregnant when she returned to Chryse and eventually gave birth to a son.”

“Agamemnon’s fault obviously... If he was the father of the child, that would make Astynome’s son a Greek prince.”

“Actually, according to the diary, she was untouched by Agamemnon. Astynome swears that she never had sex with the king.”

“Well… then how did she explain her pregnancy?’

“In this diary she claims that her son was actually fathered by… oh my gosh… Apollo!”

Amanda laughed: “She had sex with a God? Way to go Chryseis!”

I grinned and shook my head… it did sound a bit farfetched. “So any way…Chryseis named her son Chryses. Shortly after he was born, he was abducted by a woman named Pyrrah. The rest of the story tells of how Astynome followed Pyrrah across the globe until she eventually tracked them to a remote tropical island. There’s actually a map here in the manuscript showing the route that she took and how to get to the island… and look… there are all kinds of sticky notes attached to this page. It looks like our bad guys might be interested in this location.”

This caught Amanda’s attention and she leaned in closer to look at the map.

“Look! That’s Rachel’s handwriting! Hmmm… a map to a mysterious island... Maybe this is where she’s headed next…”

It seemed plausible. Amanda and I huddled together in the darkness, examining the map under the narrow beam of the flashlight. We were both so intent on our discovery that neither of us heard the person sneaking up behind us under the cover of the shadows.

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

I screamed in panic and very nearly fainted with fright. Amanda had enough presence of mind to whirl around and swing the flashlight at the figure behind us, but I could see that she was too late. He was already in mid-strike, swinging something that looked heavy and solid in his hands. Amanda spun herself directly into the path of the man’s swinging club. It bounced off of her forehead, snapping her head back violently. For a moment Amanda stood wobbling on her feet with a surprised look on her face. I could see that her eyes were slowly rolling up into the back of her head. A soft moan escaped from her parted lips as her eyelids began to flutter. The flashlight slipped from her weakening grasp and spiraled to the floor. Amanda’s assailant slipped an arm behind her back, allowing her to melt limply against the support of his body as she passed out into his arm.

All of this happened in a matter of moments. By the time I stopped screaming, Amanda was already out cold. I realized that I was going to be next so I instinctively reached for a heavy book to use as a makeshift weapon, but my assailant was too fast. He struck again with the club, smacking the side of my head and sending me spinning into the darkness…

I never felt myself hit the floor.

While Ms. Kent doesn't realize it, she just read a transcript of her own diary. For those of you following my ongoing art and stories, you may have caught on to the fact that Astynome/Chryseis is much more than just Ms. Kent's namesake. Plus you just learned a little bit more about the son of Apollo... and the true identity of his mother.