Chapter 5

I wake up early. I always do. The kitchen smells of burnt eggs. My mom is still home. We don't talk. But that's common for us. She leaves quickly. Probably an emergency at the hospital. 

I get ready to leave as well. My hair is let loose. Sunglasses darken the world. They hide my eyes very well.

Going to the library takes me to the 'academic' part of town. Museums, schools, theaters... All the buildings have the classism type of architecture. There are tourists wondering around. 

The library has the same vibe. It's enormous. Roof made of marble and pillars of obsidian. It's not falling apart or old like the buildings on the outskirts of town. Nor does anything here look like that. A lot of money must be spent on this. Maybe it's because of the tourists. 

I enter the library. The shelves are lined close to each other. Not know were to start, I go to the front desk. 

The lady there seems young. Her brown hair reaches her waist. It's beautiful. She stares into her phone with empty looking eyes the colour of clouds right before it rains. 

Ethereal, otherworldly is her face. If someone told me she was an Unexplainable I would believe them. 

"Good day." 

She looks at me with a bit of a glare. 

"Do you need something?" 

"Were can I find books relating to um..." 

I'm not really sure what topic to ask for. Hunger that never ends? Red orbs in peoples chest's? 

"Do you have books about Unexplainabls?" 

The librarian's eyes narrow. 

"Yes. Any particular topic?" 

"Um... how to identify them?" 

She gives me a sharp look. 

"Row 3 near the bottom on the left." 

I nod and leave. The library is even larger from the inside. There are rows of shelves all taller then I can reach. The books seem to have a variety of ages and designs. 

Row 3 looks several meters long. I go to the left side and search the bottom. The title "The short book of Unexplainabls" catches my eye. Its thick and at the very least 500 pages. Not exactly short. 

I take the book to find somewhere to sit. There is a corner with sofas and armchairs. I sit in one. They're soft. More expensive then I'm used to. 

The book feels heavy when I set it into my lap. It has a simple design of just the title on the front. I open it to the introduction. Small letters thickly placed next to each other greet me. 

Unexplainable describes any event, creature, place that cannot be explained by our current knowledge of science or goes against it. This book is divided into those categories. 

Since Daria accused me of being an Unexplainable I should look at the creature part. Flipping through the pages a thought crosses my mind. If I can't find a reason for the red orbs, hunger... Can it be an Unexplainable event? 

Unexplainable events (creatures and places) are by nature chaotic and unpredictable. What happened in one case may not be the same as in another. They are often tied to creatures and places. 

They are divided into: repeating and once occurring. An other way is by the amount of people that witnessed it into single witness and multiple witnesses. 

So what is happening to me is a repeating, single witness event. 

Here is a list of common and/famous Unexplainable events: 

I look at the events that fall into the categories I'm looking for. Time capsules and time slips, spirited away (Kamikakushi), sleep paralysis (The supernatural kind), vanishing hitchhikers... Not really what I'm looking for. 

As I loose hope that the red orbs are an Unexplainable event I go to the creature part of the book. The beginning is more or less the same as the one for events. 

There isn't much that could prove Daria wrong. There is also nothing to say she's right. This trip was a waste of time. 

Flipping through the book a bright yellow sticky note is stuck on one of the pages. Maybe someone forgot it there? 

I take the note into my hands. It looks impossible to miss. Next to it all yellows are muted. The writing is in black ink dark as night. 

You didn't find the information you were looking for? Why don't you come and ask here: 

An address is written below it. And a part of town. It's on the very outskirts to the north east. I've heard that it's a dangerous neighbourhood. Not a place were tourists go. 

I pocket the note. I've never visited that place nor ever want to. Still having the option to check it out won't hurt. 

As I walk out the librarian gives me one more glare. Maybe she's like that to every one. Some waitresses and shop assistance are like that. The pay doesn't make them happier. But working in a place like this I bet the money is enough to make me smile. 

The bus stop is full of tourists. They're loud and I don't understand a word they say. We're getting less and less of them each year. Why does the country do so much to make them happy? 

We have and had a lot of wars that take place in different country's. So much money is spent on them. And for what? We don't win them. Not enough to make it worth it. This country isn't what it once was for almost a century. 

Maybe that's why we do so much for tourist's. To look good. But no amount of pretty land marks can hide that we're rotting inside out. If this is how it's in the capital I don't want to see the country side. 

The bus comes. First people come out. The I and the tourists step inside. The road here isn't as bumpy as it is on the way from school. 

An angry looking man catches my eye. Though his frown makes him look older his probably in his early to mid 30s. Typical brown hair covers his coffee like eyes. He looks like he drinks a lot of it. 

Whenever I saw the red orbs, there was a sort of build up to it. Slowly sinking into icy water's while the hunger grew. Not now. 

A wave of those icy water's pull's me deep into it. Drowning me. White noise surrounds me. Lights so bright they hurt. All the smells are rotten. It feels more and more familiar each time. 

All the colours leave. Shadows over peoples faces. Only red orbs on dark figures remain. Were the angry man once was a great tangle of branches coming from the red orb remains. The biggest I've seen. 

Then the hunger comes. A desperate need to fulfill it. I've suppressed it for too long and it is out of control now. 

There is no use in trying to fight it. My breathing is out of control. Everything is. I'm out of control. So many bad things have happened after that. 

Everything is foggy yet so clear. I know what I have to do to get rid of the hunger. 

I take a step to the angry man. The red branches coil and swirl. I reach out to touch one of them. 

The bus stops. The man leaves. I follow him. I want to stop. I want to come back to reality so bad. Why won't my body listen to me? 

I don't feel like myself now.

My hand goes to the red branches. Touching them is like electricity. The mans anger flows through them. I can feel it. 

I bring it to my mouth. The man is right before me walking in a fast pace. I try to keep up. 

The branch is prickly on my tongue. I bit down on it and I swallow. Then again and again. 

My hunger rages inside me. I get more and more desperate. Nothing else matters. I don't notice the man stopping. I don't notice him turning around and trying to talk to me. 

He puts his hand on my shoulder. I glare at him. All he has to do is keep walking and I can feast on his anger. Is that so hard? 

He talks. The anger starts to shrink. It's getting replaced by another emotion. Doesn't matter what it is. I can't eat it. 

No, no, no... 

How do I keep him angry? 

Simple really. I punch him. 

The man takes a step back. He's still not angry. I punch him again into what I think is his head. It's hard to tell when It's covered in shadows. 

It works. The anger starts to grow again. As I eat it he starts to yell at me. Hard to say when all you hear is wight noise. 

He shakes me again. It's annoying but doesn't stop me from eating so I let it pass. He's angry that I randomly punched him and am not responding to him. 

His fist meet's my face. The sudden pain makes me stagger. I didn't expect that. The man is older and taller then me...

The anger shrinks once more. He seems to regret it. I can handle some punches. So the hunger will stop. 

I need to keep him angry. Punching him into the face again he seems ready this time. There isn't a stagger as the first time. The branches still grow. 

He try's to grab my hand to stop me from punching me. I manage to break free and land a punch again. 

What am I doing? 

Trying to eat the anger while keeping him full of wrath is hard. As we go on he starts giving up not hurting me and plays offence to. 

Stop. Stop. Stop. 

I take a punch. Then another. I have to immobilize him. 

I need my body to listen to me. I need the control back. 

Shoving my elbow into his stomach he falls. This is the same way I pushed Bridgit. He falls head first onto the side walk. There is no movement after. That's the last straw. 

I close my eyes and take one deep breath. When I open them and exhale I look up at the sky. Everything is the way it should be. The colours are back. I got rid of the hunger. 

I look down. The man lays there. 

Everything is not the way it should be. It's not fine. Messed up, wrong. 

As I take a step back his chest rises and falls. At least he's alive. 

Daria was right. I really am a monster. Unexplainable, out of control, unholy. 

I ran off. As fast as my legs can carry me. As far away as I can. But you can't run from your problems, can you?