Summary: Three of the team find themselves in the public library, the scientists attempt to find out about the town's history and Carlos visits Old Woman Josie.
The History Week event was a great opportunity for Carlos and his team. So far, they had only been able to study current phenomena, but the chance to possibly find out why the town was the way it was was too good an opportunity to miss.
Unfortunately, the logistics of the research had been a little difficult as the public library was too dangerous, the Internet was incredibly difficult to access and few residents would talk about time at all.
However, Cecil had been as helpful as he dared. Perez had met him at his mandatory dinner at Big Rico's that week and had asked about the event.
Cecil had told him that they should listen to the show that week, as he had been given permission to acknowledge time in order to tell the town a few key points in Night Vale history. He also recommended that they visit Old Woman Josie as she could probably tell the scientists more.
When he had returned to the lab, Perez had fed back to them all about Cecil's advice.
Carlos had volunteered to go, with Ellie and Brent, to see Old Woman Josie. He'd called ahead to ensure that she was okay for visitors, and she told them to drop by the next day.
Ellie had been a little put out as the time Josie had suggested coincided with Cecil's show, but Carlos pointed out that nearly all of the citizens listened to it and Josie would have it playing in her house near the car lot so she could still listen to it.
~
Carlos was awoken the next day by shouting. Again, he had overslept a lot after Jeffries had asked him to go to bed at four in the morning.
Carlos sat up and listened for the sound. It was coming from the communal area.
"Carlos! Carlos, come quick!"
He grabbed a plaid t-shirt pulling it on so he wasn't just wearing shorts and ran to the area to find Natalia next to Perez, Jeffries and Green lying, covered in sweat, in their pyjamas on the floor with various grazes and scrapes. Some books were lying around them.
"Natalia, what's wrong?"
"I don't know I just found them like this. I went down to the lab early and let you all sleep so I didn't find them until just now. I didn't want to touch them in case anything was broken."
"Here, let me." Carlos knelt next to Jeffries and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Brent? Brent can you hear me?"
"Ahh!" came another voice. Perez had sat up abruptly next to Carlos waving his arms around as if to fend off an invisible monster before looking around fearfully.
"I....we....what?"
"Edwardo, it's me. What happened to you?"
"It was horrible. It was dark, and then I was running. It was a library. It was the public library, Dr Valdez. The one we had drills for. But this time it was not a drill. There was this creature. It was....it was too awful for words."
"What did it look like?" Carlos pressed.
"I only saw a shadow. It was large and it had claws....." He shuddered. "I do not know how I left. It is rather compromised in my mind. I just need a few minutes, Dr Valdez. I will be fine."
"No. You need rest. When Brent and Ellie wake up, they will too."
"I have no wish to sleep, Dr Valdez. Not for a long time."
"I understand. But the best way you can help our team right now is assist Brent and Ellie as much as we can."
Perez nodded. "They will be awake soon. Did you not have research to do? You are expected at Old Woman Josie's house in forty-five minutes, are you not?"
"Yes. But Ellie was going to come wi-"
"Lor' almighty!" Brent awoke with a start, frightening Natalia who had been crouched in the spot between Ellie and him. She was further startled by Ellie herself who also woke up, grabbing Natalia's arm.
"Ellie, Brent!" Carlos said. "Are you okay? Were you in the library too?"
"We were. And yes. I mean, I hit my hip on a bookshelf but I'm alright
otherwise."
"Me too. I'm alrigh', Carlos. But there were these tall....things roamin' round the bookshelves. Best monste' makeup I've ever seen, or they were those librarians."
"I didn't see any. I ended up in the biography section. There were these copies of the biography of Helen Hunt. And that was it."
She looked down at the books surrounding them. A biography of Helen Hunt was certainly there, as well as a copy of Great Expectations, but for some reason it had an elephant with tentacles on the cover.
The rest were history books about Night Vale, much to the delight of Carlos.
However, when he opened them, there was lots of crossed out lines and some entire chapters were missing, with only intermittent words like 'founder' and 'council' not covered by the black marker.
"Back to square one, then." Carlos muttered.
~
"...few cave paintings of their towns and their hunting practices, and of the dark shapes that would watch them in the distance. Inhuman, shimmering shapes that never came closer or farther away, but whose presence could be felt even with eyes shut tight, huddled in fur and the company of another human's naked skin...."
Ellie giggled as they drove to Old Woman Josie's. Carlos even managed a smile. Cecil himself aside, he was beginning to like the show. It was useful scientifically for knowing what was banned, happening or would put people in danger. He wasn't sure he entirely believed everything that was said, but some things were beyond useful to them. The history week special of Cecil's had been not as useful as they thought, but it was interesting all the same.
They parked up near Old Woman Josie's house and walked up to the door before knocking. It was answered by one of the so-called angels. That absolutely did not exist, as everyone kept insisting.
"Hello, uh....Erika?"
"Yes. Come in Carlos-the-scientist. Come in, Eleanor."
Ellie swallowed. No-one called her Eleanor and hadn't done for a long time. Nevertheless, she followed Carlos inside.
Old Woman Josie was sat in a comfy looking fabric armchair and smiled at them both as they entered.
"Hello again, Dr Carlos. And I see you brought one of your science friends. What's your name, dearie?"
"Dr Ellie Green, Ms...."
"It's just Josie. Or 'Old Woman Josie'."
"I see. Thank you for having us."
"My pleasure, dear. Do sit down. Erika, can you bring some beverages for our guests?"
The Erika closest to Josie nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, folding its wings in order to fit through the kitchen door as Carlos and Ellie sat on the sofa opposite Old Woman Josie.
"So, scientists, what can I do for you?"
"We'd like to know about the town's history, if you can tell us anything." Carlos said. "Your expertise was recommended most highly."
"Oh?"
"It was Cecil." Ellie said.
"Of course it was. Did he tell you himself this time?"
"Um....no." Carlos said, confused.
"Hm. I'll have words with him. Politeness is important. Ah, thank you Erika." She took the teacup and saucer from its large hands to place on her coffee table.
The Erika then passed Carlos and Ellie their own cups, which were very different colours. Carlos and Ellie exchanged looks.
"Try it, dear." Josie said to Ellie.
Ellie took a sip of hers and gasped. Her eyes glassed over slightly with tears. "H-how did you know?"
"What is it, Ellie?" Carlos said.
"Made with too much milk and slightly gone off sweetener. Just like my dad used to make for me." She took another sip with a soft smile that was tinted with sadness.
"You need not despair, Dr Green." The Erika that brought the tea said. "Homesickness is something many beings experience. Even angels."
"I....thank you." She said quietly, looking up with a smile.
Carlos looked at his own teacup. Josie was looking at him expectantly.
"Go on, dear. The Erikas are marvellous brewers."
He took a sip and recoiled at the taste; not so much in revulsion but more in shock. It may have looked like tea, but it tasted very different.
"What did they make for you?"
"Mama's hot chocolate. Old family recipe." He looked up at the Erika. "Thank you. It's delicious."
The Erika merely smiled, a small, delicate smile difficult to make out due to the number of eyes it had surrounding its lips, but a smile nonetheless.
"Now, Carlos-the-scientist," Josie said matter-of-factly. "before we begin, may I just say that it is a good job that some of your hair is growing back. It doesn't suit you."
Ellie half-snorted into her tea but covered it with a cough.
"What would you like to know?"
~
Josie told them as much as she could about the town when she was growing up; Leonard Burton the radio host, the importance and legacy of the scouts, the City Council's "incredibly disorganised" detainings which had "thankfully improved" as well as adding small details to what Cecil said on the radio show.
Carlos and Ellie had left feeling quite peculiar. They couldn't figure out if it was the drinks or the fact that the angels stared at them intently the whole time that they were there.
Josie had been nice, offering them muffins and showing them some of the Erikas' gardening projects.
When Ellie had told her about her experience of the public library, she had tutted.
"That library. Such an awful place. They haven't had a new set of books in three years. It's disgraceful. Plus the librarians are rude. Trying to eat people on a Sunday of all days. Not respecting the library bloodstone circle. Just disgraceful."
She had sent them off with words of encouragement and gently patted cheeks. Of all the Night Vale residents that he had met so far, Josie had quickly become one of Carlos' favourites. She was a very down-to-earth person (aside from her sky-orientated house guests) and was kind to all the scientists.
Ellie had fallen asleep in Carlos' car on the way back; her exhaustive ordeal in the library had clearly wiped her out. So as Carlos drove down the highway back to the lab, only the radio show played in the background.
"...got through another day. We passed the time from one end of twelve to the other without stopping once. Well done, us! Good job, people who experience time! Time experiencers! Good job!.."
And so he was left with only Cecil's sweet voice for company. And although Carlos wouldn't admit it to himself, he felt that it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
In fact, it was far from it.