Blood and Beasts

Chapter 7

Rachel was excited to finish up for the day. She was grabbing dinner with a couple of old friends from high school. She barely saw them anymore now; life had just gotten too busy. They were both working full time, and she was still in grad school, plus working part time on top of that at the public library. It was an ideal job, in that she could easily sneak in a bit of research for her paper. Plus she found there was always an interesting array of people around the library.

The demographics were quite polarized inside. Not a lot of middle-of-the-road, middle age folks came in anymore; they would rely on different means to track down a book to read, if reading was still something they did in their leisure. TV had no doubt converted the majority of people. What Rachel saw mostly were young adults, similar to her, in need of hardcopies for their own papers. That, plus a spattering of the older crowd, who still preferred hunting down their book of the week.

There were often homeless people that came in just looking for a comfy spot to sleep for a couple hours. Mrs. Bradley encouraged Rachel to toss these people out, but Rachel could never bring herself to do it. They weren't causing any harm, and besides it was the "public" library. They certainly weren't using the space anymore inappropriately than the high schoolers that went to the upper levels to make out. Granted, Mrs. Bradley would certainly kick those teens out if she saw them.

Rachel envied those kids just wanting to sneak a first kiss, somewhere quiet and private. Mrs. Bradley didn't see the innocence in it, but Rachel did. It had been many years since her first kiss, hidden amongst books as well, and nothing since had quite been so sweet. A hopeless romantic at heart, waiting for the right one.

Rachel enjoyed it when she spotted someone in the library that didn't fit into the typical mold: a hipster flipping between philosophy books and typing out his novel, or a nerdy kid who couldn't afford to buy the books they wanted just yet. She thought of them as 'shiny people', simply because their glimmer caught the eye. She saw one of her shiny people sitting in the corner now, turning the pages of a book.

She'd seen him before, and talked with him a few time, and although she didn't know his name, he was Judd in her mind. This was because he reminded her of an older Judd Nelson, only this man was much paler, and though his clothes had a similar grungy feel, they didn't quite have the same flair. Judd looked to Rachel like an aging metal rocker, long dark, greying hair pulled back in a bun, dark shirt, dark jeans, jean jacket on top of that. When she talked to him last she'd seen he had tattoos on his hands, or used to anyway. Burn marks had distorted them. She was curious what the tattoos were, but figured it might be rude to ask.

When they had talked, Judd was always very pleasant to her, not overly cheery, but pleasant was the best way she could describe it. He seemed very proper, like a professor. She'd always find him reading science books, on anatomy or astronomy. He said he found most other books tough to get through because most were trying to impose a distinct view, and a subjective one at that. Judd said that although scientific pieces weren't devoid of that, it was easier to take the data and weigh the conclusion on its own merits.

She decided to go over. He gave a small smile as she approached.

"How are you today?" he asked, in a smooth voice.

"I'm doing quite well, and yourself?" she responded. His eyes, looking at her behind thick glasses, unnerved her a little now that she was this close. They were very pale like his skin, blue she thought, but milky with very narrow pupils, as if they were strained in the light. Perhaps he was going blind, she thought sympathetically.

"I'm doing fine, thank you." She glanced at the book he was reading.

"Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design. Haven't read it myself, but I'm sure it's fascinating."

"I read pieces of it a long time ago when I was younger. I felt compelled to look through it again since Mr. Hawking passed, but it has taken me a while to get around to it. This book caused a lot of controversy because it proved the existence of God to be unnecessary in the creation of the universe. I hope you don't mind my asking, but I see the cross around your neck, can I assume you're Christian?" Rachel touched the gold chain around her neck and nodded. Judd held up the book so she could look at the cover. "If I told you that this book contained irrefutable proof that there was no God, would you read it?" Rachel thought about it for a moment.

"I'm not sure. I suppose I wouldn't avoid it if that's what you're asking. But I think even if I read it, I'd have trouble then believing there wasn't a God. Maybe there wouldn't be a God as we understand it, but that would be saying that we understand everything, and that seems a little presumptuous in my mind." The corner of his mouth curled up in his small smile, and he lowered the book.

"I think we have similar thoughts on the matter. As intelligent as this book is, I would tend to agree that there is more to reality than we have fully grasped yet. Rules that break the rules, so to speak." She smiled, his steady gaze was making her uneasy, though it was hard to pinpoint why.

"Well I'll let you get back to it, lots more for you to read there before the day is done." She backed away. He nodded and let his eyes fall to the pages once more.

After she was gone, Abraham took off the glasses and shut his eyes for a moment. He'd spent too long in the dark caverns under the city. The fresh air was a welcome change but the light was always harsh. He decided he would take the book back with him and finish it by candlelight, now that he'd had his chat with the girl Rachel and felt confident she would suffice should they need a back up. At least if they needed a female back up. He had watched her over his frequent visits, even times when she hadn't noticed him. She seemed an unfailingly kind girl, intelligent and sweet. And innocent, so innocent.