• Lost in the Library | by MD & Indy CS

[MaskedDeath]

Lost in the Library

~•¥•~

 

I came up with this story while being bored one day. I don't remember how exactly it came to mind, just that I thought it was a really cool idea at first and that I wanted to start writing before it escaped my memory.

It has grown since, and gained a few more characters and setting details.

 

Lost in the Library has a PG-13 plot, please read the notifications on each chapter marker (2nd post) to check if the chapter you want to see has PG-13 content.

 

The year is 5097 in a flipped universe, nothing is how one would expect. Humans thrive, living primarily in the sky and using airships to return to earth for resources. The use of hot air and big money dominate every life, playing a part in every being's existence. The village is divided into two parts; the working class- who work as airship pioneers, wood carvers, steel workers and other small businesses. They pay their taxes to the rich- who work the banks, airship production, leather working, police departments and law enforcement, train lines and goods along the lines of oil and metals.

 

The police department is divided into three sections:

Special Forces: Hawks (SF|H)-

Almost never seen by common public, if they are seen in pubic, they're heavily undercover and are not easily noticed. They work at night and are the most highly trained officers of all the forces. They'll usually be issued work as a spy or undercover guard.

Red Light: Wolves (RL|W)-

Special investigators professing in forensic tech., coroner, interviewing witnesses and suspects and animal control.

303.Firedogs (3.F)-

Consisting mostly of officers in training. Everyone else works in-office, filing on computers and sending out alerts through phone.

 

The city, the people and everyday life

 

Alastaria - the city of high-class, upbeat dreams where anything can come true.

Ruby Rochelle is the character we focus on. She's an agent of SF|H and has worked hard to get there, Get to know Ruby here:

· · ·

Full Name:

Ruby Jola Rochelle

Gender:

Female

Appearance:

5.6, Long black hair, skinny, brownish-green glittering eyes, thin eyebrows, full red lips, attractive and agile.

Personality:

Uses seduction as a dangerous weapon, protective, creative, escape artist, trickster, optimistic (usually), brave, fighter, daring and undaunted.

Occupation:

SF|H agent, 2nd Platoon - Top Secret - CONFIDENTIAL.

· · SF|H · ·

Weapon (custom):

Long Sword - Red leather sheath. Plasma rifle hidden in the base of the handle.

Vehicle of Choice:

Ash - Huge red trike w/ one black stripe down the middle - one wheel in front, two in back. Turbo/Nitro engine. Extra weapon storage & custom seatbelt for Thor.

Companion(s):

Thor | German Shepherd | Flak jacket, Red & Black standard bandana. To be written. Branden Miles.

 

Full Name:

Branden John Miles

Gender:

Male

Appearance:

5.9, dark hair - looks brown in the sun, muscular, strong jaw line, steel gray eyes, long legs - can sprint far distances.

Personality:

Loyal, curious, argumentative, stubborn, daring, enthusiastic, "life of the party".

Occupation:

SF|H Agent, 2nd Platoon - assigned as Ruby's partner.

· · SF|H · ·

Weapon (custom):

Converted automatic Remington rifle. Can fire plasma, has a setting for both plasma and bullets.

Vehicle of Choice:

Will usually go along with whatever Ruby is driving unless two are needed.

~•¥•~

Edited February 1, 2016 by MaskedDeath

[MaskedDeath]

Chapters

 

- - Chapters will usually be 2-3 posts long. Look for the "*" symbol at the end of a chapter to see if it's continued into the next post or not.

 

Lost in the Library is a PG-13 topic. Chapters will be marked with a "§" if they contain PG-13 content.

 

•Ch. 1- Crime, the City and a Druglord

 

•Ch. 2- Fanglore

 

•Ch. 3- Descent

 

•Ch. 4-

Edited February 1, 2016 by MaskedDeath

[MaskedDeath]

•Ch. 1- Crime, the City and a Druglord

 

Thursday - 27 - September | 8:15pm.

Alastaria - Drillbits Cafe & Inn <

 

· · · | The bright orange sky outlined Alastaria like a child's paper cutout. People were returning home from work or shopping and the streetlights began turning on, one by one. The men working the crop fields far below on earth during the day slowly eased their huge, dusty airships into port and began tying up, ready to go home. In the back of a beautiful, rustic, three-story building, a black hybrid Lincoln pulled up. A woman wearing dark sunglasses, knee-high black boots, a black trenchcoat and a short, brown ruffled dress got out of the driver's side. She closed the door and walked up to the old building's monotone back door, painted black in a very lazy way. Opening it, she went in and pressed a button on the wall to her right. A high-pitched man's voice came through the crackling speaker; "Lyddie?! Where in the blazes have you been?" The woman in the trenchctat rolled her eyes, "It's Ruby, Lyddie is out sick." There was a long pause on the speaker, Ruby could hear agitated voices in the background. "All right, Ruby, come on up." the man pressed the buzzer and a door nearby clicked open. Ruby went through the door, down a long, narrow hallway and pressed the ^ button beside the elevator doors. When it finally came down, she walked in and watched the doors close, waiting patiently for the old elevator to get upstairs. When Ruby arrived on the third floor, she was greeted by a tall, blocky man who led her down the hall to the manager's room.

 

The manager, a short, fat man, was pacing at his door. He was clearly upset at Lyddie's absence; he was sweating profusely and mumbling to himself. Upon seeing Ruby and the guard appear, he briskly strode up to them and shook Ruby's outstretched hand.

In the office, the manager was pacing again, discussing the topic at hand with Ruby. "You'll have a partner, of course. Are you experienced?" Ruby nodded. "Good." The manager pulled a file from a drawer in his desk. "His name is Branden." The manager said it with dignification and handed Ruby the file. She looked over it carefully then looked back up "I'll do it." For a moment, the manager's stressed expression faded and a faint smile could be seen. Ruby winked at him and left the room, saluted the guard and got back on the elevator. Stepping into the silky night air, Ruby could smell a bonfire in the distance. The sky was blacker than an SF|H agent's boot after crawling through the trenches back on earth. Walking up to her car, a tall, handsome man stepped out of a rusty maintenance door to her right. "Branden Miles?" He nodded and opened the driver's side door for her. A huge German Shepherd jumped out and almost knocked Ruby off her feet. "Thor! What're you doing here?" She hugged the big dog and looked to Branden. "Did you bring him?" He ran his fingers through his short spiky hair; "Sort of, yeah. I did." Ruby smiled at him then opened the back passenger door and let Thor in. "Come on, we've got some ass to kick."

They sped off, headed for the east side of town.

 

8:34pm - - | Ruby and Branden pulled up next to the Drillbits Cafe and Inn. They got out and ducked under the hanging sign, scrollwork intricately filled the letters and spaces.

The people inside were of all walks of life. Older men who conversed over the latest politics sat around a booth in the corner. Three strippers off work sat at the bar, long blonde hair curled around blood-red fingernails. Middle-aged businessmen laughed, elbowing each other and trying their luck at the old slot machines. Ruby and Branden sat facing each other at the bar. "Coffee, two sugars, and two creams." She told the bartender. Branden bit his lip for a second and said "Same." Spinning a bottle cap in little circles on the table, Ruby thought hard about her next case. "This case..." She said, eyes fixed on the table, "Is something new. I've never been so far uptown before." Branden looked out the window briefly, "Well, everything gets harder further up the road in SF|H." A thin, misty rain was now falling outside.

 

When their coffee arrived, Branden took a sip and asked; "So, what's this case about?" Ruby put down her cup and raised a finger - "Let me get the file and I'll show you." She came back in, a thin layer of ice covered her hood. It was now snowing. She handed him the file and sat down. "I'm just going to warn you, that you won't like it." He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the big bold lettering on the front - Top Secret: Authority eyes only. Inside were black and white prints of a tall man wearing a black robe that hid his face. He held a sword in one hand and the shackles of a prisoner in the other. "He's threatening to take earth. He thinks our 'sky kingdom' as he calls it, should be separated from earth. That certain humans should live separately from the rest. Those with high intelligence." Ruby mentioned, pointing to a report on the killings of anyone who goes against him. Branden flipped slowly through the pictures and reports, taking another sip of his coffee. He concentrated hard on one article, written by a young rebel girl who'd escaped the clutches of her captor. Looking up, he saw Ruby watching and shook his head. "You're right. I don't like it one bit." Ruby looked at her watch and finished her coffee. "We gotta go, next stop, Alastaria town square."

 

| - - - End of chapter 1

Edited January 7, 2016 by MaskedDeath

[MaskedDeath]

•Ch. 2- Fanglore

 

Saturday - 29 - September | 7:35am.

Alastaria - Town Square <

 

- - - | Ruby stopped the car in front of the bank. It was a tall building, ancient brown columns lined the outside. Huge billowing flags stood like sentries on each corner. They bore the seal of Alastaria- a griffin with pearls in it's claws and an eastern dragon circling the griffin.

 

Inside, the grandeur and beauty of a single windowpane could fill a dictionary so Branden kept his eyes on the dark gray and brown stone diamond floor instead. Ruby walked up to a keypad on the farthest wall and typed a four-number code. "Ever done this before?" Branden shook his head. "Ok, you'd better step back." She put a hand on his chest and stepped back from the wall about 5 feet. He watched, fascinated, as the wall split into four sections. Each opened outwards and a loud roaring from inside built up until a large red trike rolled out. Ruby extended her hand elegantly, "Meet Ash. He's mostly computer-controlled, unless I tell him that I can take over." Branden's eyes widened with awe. He blinked quickly, and said, "Now I've seen some pretty crazy stuff but this tops it all. I mean, this...this is genius!" "Why, thank you." Said Ash as his bright triangular headlights lit up. Ruby got on and looked up at Branden "Well? Hop on. We'll get places way faster than with the Lincoln."

 

Ruby drove out of the bank and up behind her car. She opened the back door and Thor jumped out. "Here, boy." Ruby slipped on his flak jacket and strapped him on to the back of the trike with a seatbelt she made specially for doggie companions to tag along. "Got any weapons you want to carry?" She asked Branden as she handed him a helmet and put her long sword in her belt. He opened the trunk of her car and pulled out a converted automatic rifle. "How's this?" He asked. She smiled, "That's perfect. Let's go." Back on the road, storefronts and restaurants zoomed by. Ruby typed their destination in the gps pad. "4 miles, past Durmont drive. Left turn at 398." Snow had started falling again, Ruby closed the gps pad cover and switched off manual drive. The fat flakes that fell were now sticky and clumping on the road. Ruby was relieved to have bought snow tires on time this year. "We're going to this guy's house uptown. He said that he had information about this terrorist guy. We might even be able to pin a name on him." Branden nodded "Good. Does he know the girl who escaped?" Ruby shook her head hesitantly, rubbing her hands together, "I don't think so..." "Durmont drive" said Ash. Turning onto Durmont drive, trees formed a tunnel. Only 30 or so feet in, all light was blocked out and the headlights switched on. Creepy shadows weaved through the trees and up into the thick canopy above. The arrow on the speedometer went down, taking a left at 398. Slowly, the foliage thinned to reveal a beautiful mansion and as they came up the drive, an older man in his sixties opened the back door. He was very light-skinned, with a bushy graying mustache and dark brown eyes. "Hi, I'm Ruby. My manager might have called you just before 7 yesterday?" "Oh yes, he did. Pleasure to meet you. Parker, Clint Parker. If you want, your dog can come too, I don't mind." They shook hands and Ruby unclipped Thor from the trike and they all followed Clint inside.

 

10:24am - - | All seated on a fluffy sectional in the living room, Ruby took a pen and notepad from the breast pocket of her trenchcoat. Clint sat across from them in a leather library chair. "Mr. Parker, would you happen to know Shasta Cohen?" Clint nodded, "Yeah, only a little. I met her at the bakery downtown. She was talking with the cashier about what happened." He laced his fingers across his chest and continued. "I sat with her and asked her a few things about her experience. She was very friendly, willing to share her story." Ruby nodded, taking down the notes. Branden asked; "Have you talked with her since? Did she mention the name of her captor?" Clint thought for a moment. "No, I never got a phone number but she said the guy only ever referred to himself in third person, and called himself Fanglore." "Ok, Last one. Did she say anything about the condition of the camps?" "No, I can't recall that she did." Branden plucked a few peanuts from the bowl on the coffee table between them and got up. "You'll tell us if you remember anything else." Clint nodded, "Yep. You guys will be the first I call." Ruby followed Branden back outside "Ok, thank you!" As they left the driveway, Clint Parker waved to them. "Good luck!"

 

| - - - End of chapter 2

Edited February 1, 2016 by MaskedDeath

[MaskedDeath]

•Ch. 3- Descent

 

Tuesday - 1 - November | 9:27pm.

Alastaria - The Hatch <

 

- - - | Ash skidded to a halt outside of a tall fence atop a stone wall. Three muscular officers stood at each corner. One came up to Ruby and she stood, shaking his outstretched hand. "You guys going down? Can I see your authorization?" Ruby took a card from her wallet and showed him. "Okay, be careful down there." He saluted her, unlocking the gates. She waved and drove into a capsule that locked behind them and shot straight down to earth.

 

There were select people who, if they had the money to, were allowed to live on earth. These people were often trillionaires and had been mayors, governors or owned multiple successful businesses. Most of earth was dominated by wilderness and land set aside for new farms or whatever else was needed. The people who did live on earth usually used their mansions as summer houses. "Hey, you ever been down here?" Ruby looked back at Branden. "Yeah, once. When I was 15-maybe 16. I went to a friend's sweet 16 with my band." Ruby laughed, "You had a band?" Branden smiled, "Yeah, I always thought we were pretty good." Ruby smiled too."I'd like to hear something by you one day." She opened the capsule door and drove Ash down the ramp. The air was crisp, a sweet smell hung on the breeze. Branden wondered aloud; "Are there any beasties living down here? Like monsters and robots and such?" Ruby gave him a piercing stare. "What do you think, smarty pants?" He kept looking into the distance. "Well, my friend-who had the sweet 16-her dad wanted to make robots at his company so that they could protect earth while humans aren't down here."

 

Now Ruby wondered the same thing. "Huh, I don't know." Was all she could say because it stumped her so. "C'mon, it's getting really dark now. Let's set up camp." Branden ventured out toward the woods. "I'll get firewood." In no more than two minutes, he came back with a large armful of firewood. Ruby took a tent out of the storage compartment under the front seat and propped it up with three strong branches from the pile. She unlocked the gps pad from Ash and turned it on. Walking over to Branden, she showed him their position on the map, pointing to a tiny red blip; "We're there. We need to get all the way over..." She scrolled about 20 miles to the west. "...Here. That's Fanglore's citadel. But first, we have to find a way inside his top-security prison-like wall surrounding the place." Branden looked surprised and said; "We can't take the shortcut?" Ruby shook her head, "No, Fanglore uses that for transporting his armies. If we were to take that, we would need very heavy disguise." Ruby checked the time, "We need to get to sleep, we'll think of battle strategies later." She unstrapped Thor from Ash and he curled up next to her. The three of them sat against Ash and watched the fire, one by one falling asleep.

 

Waking up in the tent, Branden was still leaning against Ash. There was a smell on the air, it was wet but not rain. Ruby leaned around the corner of the tent "Hey, you! You're finally awake. It was really cold last night so there's condensation everywhere." She took his hand and pulled him up. "Bacon and beans for breakfast!" Ruby yelled from the fire pit. "Come sit down." She gave him a plate and patted the ground next to her. Branden sat down and asked "Where'd Thor run off to this time?" Ruby smiled "He'll be back soon. Right after he's done hunting." Ruby looked off into the distance and sighed. "He loves coming down here. We'd make trips down every Friday after work and spend the weekend. He likes the open space." Ruby finished her meal and got up to start taking down the tent.

Edited February 20, 2016 by MaskedDeath