Gargoyles

Alex Moyer made his way up the cold, snow covered streets of Royal Falls, fighting against the freezing wind that was making every attempt to blow him back.

He had moved to this God forsaken wasteland over half a year ago; he still despised every second of the unrelenting cold.

It was as if the town was alive and determined to make all the inhabitants suffer.

"What did we ever do to you Mother Nature?" muttered Alex to no one. It wasn't as if anyone could hear him over the roaring wind anyway.

He was answered with another group of giant snow flakes to the face, and a increase in the freezing gale.

Stupid mom and her thinking it would be just fine to walk…thought Alex bitterly.

Walking will do you some good, and besides I can't drive you all over God's creation… he recalled her saying over the phone.

This isn't God's creation…he thought, rubbing his hands together. This is a frozen hell.

"Alex…" called a distant voice behind him.

Alex paused and turned around.

The only other person on the street besides him was having much more trouble moving.

Probably because of the giant pile of books in his hands and the glasses that continued to slip off his nose.

"Wait up! I can't keep up," yelled the boy, readjusting his glasses and grasping onto the seven books in his other hand; all while trying to not get blown over.

Alex sighed in annoyance.

That old toad, Mrs. Ronalds', would give him the one kid that couldn't hold his own in a snow storm.

"C'mon Jesse," Alex yelled back in annoyance, continuing up the street.

The new nerd, Jesse, had recently moved into Alex's history class at Royal Falls Public.

He was the pinnacle of a nerd. Glasses always slipping, dressed funny, always carried about around his own library, and was socially awkward in every single way.

Alex didn't much care for him, and he had been slightly put out when Mrs. Ronalds has pointed her sausage fingers at Alex and said he would be paired with Jesse.

But maybe good would come of it yet.

At least I can get away with doing just about no work here…he thought.

The assignment the two were working on was classical buildings in the Royal Falls area.

Seeing as the Royal Falls area was only two years old, Alex didn't see how there could be any classical buildings around.

Mrs. Renolds had frowned when he pointed this out and croaked that they would all just have to "make a trip into town".

That "trip" included surviving the blizzard Alex and Jesse were in.

"Thanks for waiting," panted Jesse as he caught up to Alex.

Alex could barely hear him between Jesse's voice muffled by his giant scarf and the howling wind.

"Well, I don't exactly know where we're going," Alex hollered, moving up the street; Jesse following closely, trying not to lose his books.

"You've never been to the library," asked a stunned Jesse in a muffled voice.

"We have a library?"

Jesse gave a sigh that Alex was sure he gave many people he thought were simpletons.

Before they slapped the books out of his hands or stole his glasses that is.

"Right up there," Jesse said, pointing to a giant stone structure standing out of the snowy gloom.

Alex whistled to himself. How little he paid attention.

The two made their way up the giant stone steps leading to the front doors. The steps were covered in salt and on the last step, Alex felt his footing slip.

"Damn-," Alex mumbled under his breath, arms flailing to find something to stop his fall.

His hand gripped something and he pulled himself up quickly.

He looked at what he was gripping and saw his hand was in the maw of a giant stone gargoyle.

The gargoyle's mouth was open wide, like he was laughing; his teeth were edged, and his horns jutted strait out of his skulls.

"Thanks buddy," mumbled Alex, eyeing the stone monsters own fake eyes.

If the gargoyle's mouth was laughing, his eyes were without a doubt leering at Alex.

Alex shuddered quickly, weather from the stone creatures gaze or the cold he wasn't sure, and stepped inside the library.

It was like something out of a picture or an old time movie in Alex's mind.

The library could have easily fit two, two story houses. It was lit by a combination of walled torches and hanging lights.

The shelves were bright polished wood and scattered around library were assortments of tables and chairs.

There were fireplaces roaring along the walls and blanketing the floor was a plush red carpet.

"Try not to drip on the carpet if you can avoid it boys," came a crackly voice from behind them .

Alex and Jesse whirled around and faced an aged man standing in the corner.

The man's eyes were electric blue and he had a nice white beard staring to grow on his chin.

He had a tattered brown cap on and his coat was dingy, as were his brown pants.

The broom in his hands only completed the look of a caretaker.

"Please leave anything that's soaked right over there," said the caretaker, smiling with yellow teeth.

"Thank you sir," said Jesse politely and he moved to remove his two snowman coats and his giant scarf.

Alex moved to follow, when the caretaker talking cut him off.

"Do they talk back to you?" he asked.

Alex raised an eyebrow and looked the old man up and down again.

"Excuse me?"

"The gargoyles," said the caretaker, "they talk back to you?"

Alex figured he was just making fun of him and felt a flush rise to his face.

"Did you have enough salt on those stairs? It's almost as bad as the ice," Alex seethed.

The old man just laughed heartedly.

"I'm not making fun of you boy. I talk to them myself sometimes," he chuckled. "Names Will, son."

Alex took the old man's aged hand. It was hard and calloused; showing years of work.

"Alex."

"Well I those gargoyles are quite interesting creatures," said Will, leaning on his broom. "Sometimes when you're here late at night by yourself, you think they will answer back."

Alex looked out the glass doors at the back of the gargoyle, imagining if the stone behemoth had answered back…

Probably would've just bit my hand off…he thought.

"Hey, you wouldn't be interested in a job would you?" the weather old man asked.

"Huh?" asked Alex, still imagining the gargoyle springing to life.

"I'm getting up in years, can't get as much done as I used to…," Will said, eyeing Alex closely. "I've been trying to find some lads who would be able to help me around here."

Alex considered the offer. He was in need for some cash, and the place seemed like a good enough job.

"Sure, why not," said Alex, shrugging.

"Good man," said Will jollily. "Just don't bring it around to your friend," said Will, dropping his voice. "I'd like some work to actually get done, if you get my meaning."

Alex watched as Jesse knocked himself over trying to get his second coat layer off.

"Yeah, I get what you mean," said Alex.

"Great," said Will briskly. "Then here, after ten. It's a graveyard shift, so be ready."

And with a final touch to the brim of his cap, the caretaker hobbled away, sweeping here and there.

"Ready for the research," asked Jesse, joining Alex after finally succeeding in freeing himself from his coat.

"Sure," muttered Alex, looking numbly at all the books in this place. "Can't wait."

By the time they left Alex was sure he never wanted to look at another book again.

The next night, after gathering facts with Jesse again, Alex stayed behind and waited for Will.

His mother had given the green light for him working late, given that Alex argued he needed the money and would be fine without the sleep.

"Hello there Alex," called Will, limping slightly up to him. "Ready to get to work?"

"Yes sir," said Alex politely.

"Good," Will said gruffly. "Now here's a rag and some polish. Get those book shelves over there will ya?"

Alex did as he was told and began scrubbing away at the wooden shelves.

The library was a whole new world at night.

As Will started to turn down the lights and put out fires, the shadows danced on the walls, the old library creaked continuously, and the wind outside only added to the chills Alex got on the back of his neck.

But Will kept him hard at work, not giving him the time to worry about the creepiness of the library.

After scrubbing the shelves, he had Alex sweep the floors, dust all around the torches, and clean the giant stain glass windows that were, apparently, a gift from another country.

By the end of his three hour shift Alex was ready for bed.

"One last thing lad," Will said. "Make sure all the doors are locked will ya? Don't want anyone sneaking in…"

"Yeah sure thing," said Alex.

All the doors he tried at first were locked good and tight.

But the last one creaked open when he gave it a good push.

Alex looked at it and read that this was the door to the roof.

Shrugging, he made his way up the stairs slowly, noticing that this was the only part of the library that looked exceptionally old.

The stone steps were cracked, the whole place smelled damp, and there were cobwebs practically growing out of the wall.

Alex took a few more steps up, feeling the chill of the narrow hall practically seeping through his skin.

There was a bang from what sounded like above him, and Alex whipped his head up, trying to discern what could've made that sound.

Alex frowned, his head spinning with every reason why he shouldn't continue down the stone hallway. He had seen enough horror movies to know this didn't end well for him.

However, plain curiosity won over and he crept forwards a few more steps. His footsteps echoed hollowly against the rock, adding to the chill crawling up Alex's spine. There was another loud bang from above.

"What the…" Alex mumbled to himself.

A rough, ice cold hand dug into his neck.

Alex jumped, gasping suddenly and overcome with the urge to scream, but unable to let it out.

"Watcha there boy," chuckled the old caretaker, patting him on the back in good humor.

"Oh….," mumbled Alex, putting a shaky hand over his excited heart, "You snuck up on me."

"Gather I did, seeing how high you jumped," grinned Will. "Thought I'd save you the trouble of going up there. The roofs no place to be after a big ice storm."

"I thought I heard something…," grumbled Alex, following Will back to the library's foyer.

Will paused, glancing up at the ceiling.

"Did ya now… Well…lot of things go bump around here."

"Right…," Alex grumbled, feeling exceptionally foolish now. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door, ready for a good nights rest.

"I suggest you just stay away from the roof. Wouldn't want something bad to happen. I handle everything up there anyway."

Alex nodded but rolled his eyes when Will turned his back. Old man obviously didn't think he could handle himself.

"Same thing tomorrow then?" Alex asked.

"Sure thing," Will said, following Alex out the door. "I could use the help. I'm too old for this."

Alex chuckled, pulling his coat tighter and waiting expectantly for the old man to follow him down the icy paths.

"Go on ahead son," Will said, leaning against the stone gargoyles outside the doorway. "My home's here. I keep everything in check at night."

"Lot happen in a library at night?" Alex chuckled.

"You get a few things every now and then," Will said softly, giving a strange look at the sky. It was almost expectant.

"Alright then sir," Alex said, shaking the grizzled hand again. "Have a good night."

"You too son," said Will, returning to the dark interior of the library.

Alex continued down the street, crossing the street to begin the walk home. He stopped one more time to look over the giant stone building one last time.

The moon was shining brightly that night, throwing the building into shop focus. The stone demons on the ledge of the roof seemed to give off an aura that drew his gaze.

The temperature seemed to drop even lower than it usually was, and Alex couldn't repress a shiver.

He turned to continue down the street, but stopped and turned at the sudden sound the seemed to ring through his skull.

It was a roar; a feral roar that sounded high and long. Alex shook his head, trying to clear it.

My mind's playing tricks on me…he thought numbly. Just the wind…

With that he covered his frozen ears and continued down the street. Although he was seriously psyched now.

He could've sworn his eyes were playing tricks on him now, too, because it sure looked like one of those stone demons had moved.

That night was a rough one for Alex, and he went through the following day in a trance.

Nightmares had plagued him most of the night, the strangest nightmares that he had ever had. They involved him being chased and then eaten by these flying creatures, then another one had him stuck in a giant library, running from something. One of the strangest Alex remembered was a nightmare where he turned to stone.

"I don't need this," grumbled Alex, his head throbbing.

He fell asleep in all of his classes, got chewed out by all his teachers, and when him and Jesse went to research the library again, he did nothing but stare at the wall.

So by the time the nightshift rolled around, Alex was ready to call it quits.

"Rough day son?" asked Will, polishing some of the wooden tables.

"You could say that…" Alex muttered, halfheartedly dusting some of the shelves. "Didn't sleep very good. Had some weird dreams…"

"Well whenever I have dreams, I drink some green tea," Will commented, going to his next job. "Read in a magazine it's supposed to release endorphins or something…"

Alex began to start toning him out; he was hearing him without really hearing him. He replied with a 'yep' or 'right' whenever necessary, but wasn't really into the conversation.

Luckily the night went by fast in his daze and Will was calling for his last job.

"Just lock those doors good and tight before you head out would ya?"

"Got it sir," Alex mumbled, taking the keys from Will's extended hand.

As Will locked each door, Will began to shut of the lanterns, so with every locked door the library became darker and less inviting.

Finally, Alex came to the door that led to the roof again. It was a little different this time around.

The door wasn't just unlocked; it was thrown wide open, and a cold gust was coming from it. Also, a crunching sound was reverberating from the stone, like someone was walking around up there.

"Hey, Will," called Alex, his voice only quivering slightly. "You come up here?"

"Yeah, what's the matter?" called the old man, hurrying over.

"Are you sure no one's gone up to the roof?" Alex asked. His mouth had gone very dry. "The door was thrown wide open and I think I hear somebody up there."

Will looked at the door carefully, his ancient eyes narrowed.

"Why don't you just head on home son. I'll finish this up. Like I said, roof's not safe after this ice storm."

"Well then shouldn't I go with you? So you don't slip and fall or something…"

Will chuckled softly and patted Alex's shoulder. "Nice of you to think of me son. But don't worry. This old birds gone through much worse. You just get home."

"Alright…" Alex relented uneasily, heading for the front door.

As Alex put on his coat, Will, barely visible in the suffocating darkness, called out again.

"You be careful out there son."

"Yeah… You, too," Alex muttered.

With that, Alex returned to the freezing outdoors. He shuffled down the street, the moon shining down again, throwing the shadows into sharper focus.

Just as last night, after he had crossed the street, Alex glanced back at the library one last time.

The eye's of the gargoyle guarding the entrance of the library seemed to be tracking him, laughing jeeringly about whatever it knew that Alex did not.

Alex shivered and turned his back to the building only to run headlong into somebody.

"Sorry about that…," Alex muttered.

It was some kid, which struck Alex as strange seeing as it was almost eleven o'clock at night.

He was dressed head to toe in black; black collared shirt, black pants that looked almost too nice, and black shiny shoes. He was pale and rather skinny, even though when Alex ran into him it felt like running into a brick wall. The kid's hair was combed, everything flat down except the bangs that were kept out of his eyes and spiked up like horns.

The kid didn't make a reply. He just looked at Alex, the surrounding darkness making it impossible to guess what the kid may have been thinking.

Then, the kid's gaze went to the library. It was a strange look, like he was expecting something, but not wanting to go get it.

Alex brushed it off and continued down the street past him.

"Asshole," he grumbled. He couldn't help looking back at the kid one last time though.

And he couldn't help but shiver one last time, when he saw the moon shining down sharply on the kid, throwing him into sharp focus as he continued to gaze at the library.

The next morning was a Saturday, so Alex was meeting Jesse at the library early to finish up this research.

This nights sleep had been better than the last, the sun was actually shinning, and Alex was in better spirits than the day before.

He strode down the street, head up, and ready to get this little unpleasant schoolwork out of the way so he could enjoy the rest of his weekend.

However, when he reached the library, there was a crowd gathered along the curb. He glanced uneasily around, and spotted Jesse's banana yellow snow-man coat sticking out.

"What the hell's going on?" Alex demanded, coming up behind him.

"Some old dude… He's dead," muttered Jesse. He looked very pale, and was rocking back and forth like he was going to faint. "I got here first and he was lying on the sidewalk… Big gaping hole in his chest…" Jesse shivered violently. "Excuse me…"

He sprinted off to some bushes to be sick.

Alex felt dread creeping down his spine and, fearing the worst, pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

"Hey! Hey officer!" Alex yelled at the nearest cop.

"Stay back off the tape kid," the police man said, not sparing Alex a look.

"Wait, who is it that died? Was it Will?"

This got the cops attention. "You know him? Nobody else seems to be able to give me much info about him."

"Yeah I was his…assistant," Alex said.

"Well…it was really just bad luck kid," the cop said, scratching the back of his head. "He was up on the roof for some reason and managed to slip off. So…you know…."

"Right…," whispered Alex hoarsely. He had looked up to the roof and was reminded of those damn gargoyles, looking down on the crowd and laughing like jackals. "I need to get inside real quick… It'll only be a second…"

Surprisingly the cop allowed it, escorting Alex through the scene and making sure he stayed well clear of the white sheet in the middle of the walk way.

Once inside he headed strait for the one door he knew he needed to go to.

The roof.

He knew something was off the minute he got to the door, because Will's ring of keys was lying on the floor. Alex bent down numbly and picked them up, then looking down the stone hallway.

"C'mon you pansy…," Alex muttered, taking a few tentative steps down the cobwebbed infested hall. Finally, he reached some rough wooden steps that led up to a final door.

Alex headed up to the door slowly, each creak in every step sounding like a gunshot to his ears.

Finally, he reached the door and, before his nerve could give out, threw the door wide open.

The sunlight was blinding at first, sending the world into white; however, it soon faded and reviled the roof to Alex.

It was simple really, no air-conditioning units or anything taking up space; in fact the door was the only oddity. The door and the gargoyles crouched evilly by the ledge.

Alex moved forward slowly to examine them, slipping a few times on patches of ice.

"Guess Will was right," Alex muttered. "No place for kids. Or old men I guess…look what happened to him."

Finally he reached the first gargoyle and grabbed on to it's arm for fear of slipping and going over the edge too.

The gargoyle had a death leer etched onto it's face, it's moth opened and exposing a pair of teeth that rivaled a snakes. But what caught his attention were the horns.

They were thick and jutted out sharply at a diagonal from the side of it's head. They were also coated in a sticky, slightly dried, red substance that seemed like…

"Blood…," Alex choked.

Didn't Jesse say there was a hole in his chest?… You don't get stabbed by falling… Alex back up slowly, and suddenly found himself unceremoniously yanked to the ground.

"What the…," he gasped, scrambling to his feet quickly. Then he caught sight of what had tripped him.

It was a sledgehammer, discarded and left to the roof. Alex picked it up gingerly and examined it, his mind putting two and two together.

"Maybe I should just finish what he started…," he muttered, eyeing the gargoyles darkly.

That's when Alex felt a low rumble reverberate through the air. It sounded ancient, powerful…, and evil. It was like a growl from a rabid dog, and it sapped Alex of his nerve.

He sprinted back to the door, thanking God he didn't slip along the way. He didn't stop until he was back inside the library.

There Alex leaned against the door, breathing heavily and shaking violently.

He knew he needed to do something. Because he had an idea of what happened to Will…and it didn't involve him slipping…

"I'll just keep people away…," muttered Alex.

So he stood up and locked the door leading to the roof.

But he could still hear…and would continue to hear whenever he was alone… That rumbled of some ancient evil.

Like the gargoyles were ready to break free of their stone.

And they were hungry.

Congratulation's to Alex. He actually survived this one. Too bad Will wasn't so lucky… Until next time.