text: Tim leaves city hall taking his frustration out on the ground with every step. A few people reach out to introduce themselves and comfort him, but he ignores them and pushes forward. He throws open the door outside and sits on the steps. Between tears, he looks at Bass Creek, the town that is alive. People are walking are laughing. A father is carrying his child on his shoulders. A car passes by with a young couple laughing in the front street. "Why can't you just accept this place, Stephen," Tim says. "Tim?" he hears Velma's voice. He rolls his eyes. She always likes being the peacekeeper. "Velma, please don't try to persuade me to go back inside. I cannot handle Stephen's pretentious bullshit anymore," Tim says. Velma sits next to him. "No, I actually agree with you," she smiles. "You do," Tim narrows his eyes at her. "Yes, this town is amazing, and Stephen is way too far up his ass to realize it," she says. "Oh, great," Tim stumbles over his words. He was prepared to be mad at her, and he is left confused. "Come on, let's explore this place further," Velma takes his hand and start to run through the town. People wave at them as they run. Tim is quick to wave back at every person they see. They pass by a diner, a general store, and a gas station, and at every spot, they stop and stare. After running for several moments, Velma stops in front of a library. "Wait," she steps closer to the doors. "Really, you choose a library?" Tim looks around for alternative locations, and Velma enters behind him. Tim shrugs and enters. No one else is in the library, and Velma has already made her way to the middle of the shelves. Tim goes to the aisle that has a sign on the edge with a random set of numbers. Velma is looking at a collection of books on historical events. "How much do you know about the world before the war?" Velma asks. "Uh, I don't know. I have picked up things from other travelers and random scraps, but outside of that, I guess little." "Humanity did so much that I bet that this shelf doesn't even cover a fraction of a percent, and it could all easily be forgotten in a few generations." "Not if I can help it," Tim and Velma strike defensive poses to a middle-aged woman with glasses who jumps back in shock, "Sorry, you two must be new. I should know better than to sneak up on people." "No, we are sorry," Tim relaxes. "Do you get new people a lot around here?" Velma asks. "Not really, but they tend to have similar behavior," she holds out her hand, "I am Barbara, and I run this library. I understand your fear of humanity losing its knowledge, but if I have my way, this library will not go the way of Alexandria," she brings her hand up to her face, "I am sorry you two probably haven't heard of Alexandria. It is a library that got burned." "Uh, you are correct. I have never heard of this library," Tim rubs his neck, "I am Tim." "I'm Velma. What other books do you have here?" Velma asks. "Oh so many, follow me," Barbara guides them through the shelves, "We have biographies, cook books, fantasy, romance, mystery, comic books, science books," she turns to them, "We do have some science fiction books, but we tend to keep those restricted because people tend to have averse reactions to the stories." "I am going to be honest. I understood little of what you said," Tim replies. Barbara laughs. "Don't worry. If you decide to stay, you can immerse yourself in the literary world," Barbara replies. "I would like that," Velma says. "Same," Tim says. A beeping noise comes from the front of the library. "Don't panic. It is just my coffee. Have either of you ever had coffee?" both shake their heads, "I will bring you a cup." After she walks away, a book falls on the ground. Tim walks over and picks up the book. "What is a yearbook?" he asks. "It is usually something that a school makes to show who attended that year," Velma stands next to him, "I have never seen one." Barbara slaps the book out of Tim's hands with a panicked look on her face, "Don't open that book." "What?!" Tim holds his hands in the air as if accused of a crime. "That is how it starts," Barbara scratches her face, "Find your friend and leave now." Barbara slams her head against the shelves. Tim and Velma take that as a sign to run out of the library. When they reach the street, they see the entire town is slamming into buildings. Two cars get into an accident before them. "What the hell is going on?" Velma asks. "I don't know, but we have to find Stephen," Tim says.