There used to be a book, one that wasn't by James Mandolin, that my brother Sylus talked about all the time. It was called Forest of the Dead, in a series called The David Tennant Chronicles, and it was written by Steven Moffat. In the series, David Tennant was a time-travelling adventure of an all-but-one-extinct alien race called the Time Lords. He had many companions and many pseudonyms, namely, Donna Noble and The Doctor, respectively. In this particular book, David and Donna went to a planet whose name was lost ages ago. On that planet, there was a library, which took up the entire surface. The library was so big; it didn't even need a name, just a great big "The" on the sign.
David told Donna that they were just passing through, when actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint; it was more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff. David got a note on his psychic paper from River Song, whom he never met before. What does a fictitious adventure of a fictional duo have to do with a real adventure of a factual trio, you ask? Everything. How? You'll find out. When? Later today. Where? Here, at the Bells of Clarity Asylum. Why? We needed to escape, and fiction was all I knew for escape plans.
As I ran to the Asylum's library, I saw three shadowy figures in the hall. I could barely make them out, but they appeared human. Humanoid shadows? I thought. I hope my brother's wrong. I hope Steven Moffat's books really are just a bunch of sci-fi fantasies! As much as I wanted him to be wrong, I understood why my brother Sylus would believe that was real.
In Forest of the Dead, there were these parasites called the Vashta Nerada, who travelled in swarms disguised as shadows. Not every shadow, but any shadow. The name of the parasites literally means "the shadows that melt the flesh" in a language Moffat may or may not have made up. They lived in The Library, which used to be a forest that encompassed the entire planet. Hence, the title of the book.
To my surprise, the shadows weren't Vashta Nerada swarms. They were actual shadows. I knew that bit of information the moment one of them crossed mine. There was something that struck me as a bit odd with the owners of those shadows, even though they were definitely human, or at least humanoid. These... beings were all marching in unison, a sound I could barely hear over the bells. Another thing odd about them was that they were nowhere to be seen, even though they were definitely close enough to me to be seen. What were these shadowy figures? I wondered.
The shadowy figures then sung a song, in a voice that sounded female. It's been so long that I've forgotten the words, but I do know this: These figures, whom I could only guess were girls a few years older than me, seemed to have been controlling the bells. The song the shadows sang was to the tune of the bells that the Asylum played. I assumed the obvious, that the Bells of Clarity for which the Asylum was named had been controlling the girls who sang, and that those same bells had turned those girls into shadows.
Having seen and heard that, I decided to quicken my already running pace to a sprint. I needed to get to the real library, the one in the Asylum, as quickly as possible. Only now, it was for not one, oh no! Not one, but two books. One book, the one for which I decided to go to the library in the first place, was called History of the Claritarians by Richmond Barrington, about the founders of the BCA. The other one I decided to look for, having heard the shadow sirens' song, was called Sonata Dusk by Lauren Faust, about mythological creatures such as Windigoes, Changelings, Sirens, living shadows, and others.
When I got to the end of the hallway, it was already half past noon. And the library was on the other end. And the shadows went from marching their own way to chasing me, thankfully still marching. Having exhausted nearly all of my energy with unnecessary sprinting, I had to walk. So I did. I missed lunch when I walked down that hall, but a life of liberty and happiness was definitely worth the skipping of one flavourless meal.
The hallway was so long that, after I finally got to the library and checked out the books I needed, it was eight o' clock in the evening. I was too tired to walk, talk, or even read. I fainted, lying flat on the library floor, my back to it.
The next thing I knew, nurse Fluttershy was staring down at me. "Are you okay, Miss Harkens?" she asked.
"I... I..." I began to reply, very weakly. "I just don't know what went wrong!"
"Neither do I, Miss Harkens" Fluttershy replied. "What were you doing over there, anyway? I thought it was more like your brother to get the books."
"It is. We had to split up, though, so that we could fulfill our plan." I told her. "Brother Sy should have strategised a way to take one of the keys by now..."
"What plan, Miss Harkens?" Fluttershy asked. "And what of keys?"
Though I was exhausted, my mind was still sharp as ever. I couldn't have trusted any of the workers, not even Fluttershy, the kind one, with the secret of our escape plan. I replied "Nevermind that, it's nothing." to her question. "And don't call me 'Miss Harkens' like that. Call me Clara. Or Belle. Or Clara Belle. Anything but Miss Harkens."
"I've been here, with Honest Applejack, for long enough to know that's a lie." Fluttershy responded. "Tell me the truth." she paused for a moment, then added "If that's alright with you." Her eyes widened and teared up as she looked at me.
I had no choice. How could I say no to a pair of eyes as sad as hers? I told her everything I knew. About my brother's nightmares, his outburst, our escape plan, even the shadow sirens I met in the hallway. And about the pink-haired girl who was coming with us. If we weren't in separate rooms, Sylus would have said something like "No, don't tell! You mustn't tell!" after Fluttershy spoke.
Fluttershy, obviously traumatised by what I said, left my cell. But not before stammering "G-g-g-good night, Clara Belle."
After all of these events were over, I only wanted one thing that night: to continue my research on the Bells of Clarity Asylum. All I wanted that night was some peace and quiet. All I wanted was a little bit of silence in the library of my dreams.