Heartbeat - Seek x Figure

Chapter 11

(Sorry this part was posted later than usual!)

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Figure POV

I stalked around the library, searching for the humans I knew had arrived. They had entered through the bronze doors earlier but were being exceptionally stealthy. As far as I knew, there were three of them, and my job was to exterminate them.

Finishing a lap around the library, I roared in frustration. So far, I hadn't found any of the humans. However, a footstep sounded from near my desk. Someone had stood up.

Speed walking down the stairs, I listened for the human's heartbeat, sensing it as they crept away from the desk. They must have noticed me coming, because the sound of their breathing became quick and moved away from me. But it was too late. Using my long arms, I reached for the human and killed them quickly.

Dropping the human's body onto the ground, I continued my prowl, aware that the other two humans were still here somewhere. I made sure to avoid running while I searched the library. Though running may catch the humans quicker, the sound of my own footsteps would block out the sound of theirs, making it difficult to locate them.

The sound of a footstep ahead alerted me. They were going up the stairs towards door 51. I moved across the room, listening to their footsteps as I got closer.

Before I could reach the human, my foot hit something laying on the ground. Stumbling, I was able to grab onto the nearest bookshelf. After regaining my balance, I leaned over, feeling what I had tripped on. Books? A whole pile of books?

I had never felt anything like it. Whatever. I know where the pile is now. I can come back to it later. Stepping over the line of books on the floor, I made my way up the stairs, hearing closet doors swing open.

Approaching the closet, I scanned it. There's a human inside! They were breathing rather loudly and unsteadily. Lifting one of my long arms, I yanked them out of the closet and snapped their neck quickly. One left.

Standing still for a moment, I listened for any signs of the last human. I didn't sense any heartbeat or hear any breathing, meaning they must be back down the stairs. Using the railing to balance myself, I made it down the stairs and listened.

Just then, I heard a book being removed from a shelf near me. I had heard the sound so many times that I was able to easily recognize it. Racing towards the noise, I grabbed the final human and killed them.

My job is done for now. I let out a sigh of relief and then remembered the random pile of books I had stumbled upon earlier. Finding my way back to the shelf, I crouched down. Using one hand, I felt the whole pile. It took up the entire hallway, almost as if it was put there intentionally to trip me.

Probably a human trying to be clever. I shrugged, grabbing the first book and jamming it into a space in the nearest bookshelf. It didn't fit.

What? Moving my hand, I felt another gap near it and tried again. The book still didn't fit. I reached up, testing every shelf. As my hand reached the top shelf, I realized there was a large gap where a row of books should have been.

I had solved one mystery, but it only created another. How did the books get down here? Humans can't reach that high. After so long in the library, I had noticed that humans only grabbed books on the lower shelves. So why were books from the top laying on the floor beside me? And why were they lined up so intentionally?

The first step in solving the mystery was clearing the area. One by one, I lifted the books, placing them in their assigned spots on the shelf. Soon, the floor was clear, and I had space to walk while I thought.

Maybe a human shoved the shelf? But if they had, the books would have fallen more randomly and scattered. And the books that had fallen wouldn't all have been from the same row. Somebody grabbed those books and put them in my way on purpose.

As I was contemplating this, I heard the doors of the library open. I peered out from behind the shelf, expecting a human to be in the door. However, I instead heard a heartbeat I would never forget.

"Seek!" I greeted the shorter entity, walking towards him and pulling him into a quick embrace.

Seek sighed, pulling away after a moment. He started, "All three of those humans got past me. Did you catch them?"

"As always," I answered, "but I need your help with something." Maybe there would be some evidence in the scene that I couldn't see but Seek could.

I began to cross the library, walking towards where I had almost tripped earlier. I pointed to the ground, explaining, "While I was chasing some humans, there was a line of books across the ground. It looked like someone put the books down to trip me."

"Pesky humans," Seek sighed.

"No," I stated, lifting my hand to the top shelf. "All of the books were from up here. A human can't reach this shelf. A human didn't do this."

Seek was silent. Then, he suggested, "Maybe someone came in here and knocked them down. Maybe it was Halt trying to prove his convoluted point."

As much as I wanted to settle on such a simple answer, I couldn't. "Nobody was in here since you and Rush swapped shifts earlier."

"Actually," Seek began, "you may be right. Something strange happened to me, too..."

"Tell me what happened!" I said urgently.

The shorter entity recalled, "I was chasing those three humans as usual. That's when I saw something, like a shadow blocking my vision. I didn't think much of it. I assumed it was just some human trick."

"A shadow and a row of books," I pondered. Sighing, I shook my head. "It doesn't make sense."

"Look," Seek began, "I'm on break right now. I'll go around the hotel and ask the other entities if they've been here or seen anything."

I was filled with gratitude. "Thank you..." my voice trailed off as I got an idea. "I know it's off topic, but we should give each other nicknames!"

Seek laughed, "What would you call me?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I'll think about it while you're gone."

"Okay," Seek agreed. "I'll come up with a nickname for you." He grabbed my hand, holding it for a moment. "This won't take too long."

I smiled, "Okay." Letting go of Seek, I listened to the shorter entity's footsteps getting further away. I'll see you later.

Word Count: 1141