Snippet #1348465

Avery sat in the small bookshop, absentmindedly rereading Dracula. It was one of her favourite books, Bram Stocker being a brilliant man. She flipped through the pages, reading parts and snippets to take her out of her boredom. Nothing was helping though; it was just one of those nights. It was dark and dreary and she suspected that it was about to rain anytime soon. She closed the book with a snap, it was just too creepy for her right now. After all of those tales of that infection going around she had no desire whatsoever to freak herself out.

She got out of the chair that was position behind the counter and walked over the storage closet where there was a bin full of books that she needed to shelve. She dragged the heavy thing out and sat on the floor as she started to organize the books, trying to put it in alphabetical order from the author’s last name so it would be easier to actually put them on the shelves. Avery moved her hands almost mechanically to sort the books, her eyes darting from spine to spine, used to the movement.

Grabbing her 'A' pile she walked over to the first shelve and started to put them where they belonged, the new, white pages looking odd in contrast with the creamy yellow of the older ones. She had finally been able to get a bigger budget for the store now that more and more people were coming and renting and buying books. So now bit by bit the little old book store was expanding.

Avery jumped a little, hearing the quiet 'ding' of the bell ringing as the door opened, a current of cold air meting her form. She shivered inside of her sweater, wishing it were warmer. England's weather was one of its downsides, Avery not being one for the cold.

"Hi," She greeted cheerily, getting up and dusting her jeans quickly with her hands. She felt the chill inside of the store, like the door was still opened. Avery frowned, partly from the fact that she hadn't heard a reply and from the fact that the person seemed to be holding the door open. Imaged flashed inside her head of killers and other bad things that made her shutter. The streets always were empty lately . . .

"Anyone there?" She asked, her voice cracking lightly. She turned around and poked her head out from behind the bookshelf. She saw someone leaning against the door, holding it open.

"Didn't mean to scare you," The man said, grinning. Avery's heart started to race, noticing how bloodshot the man’s eyes were. Wasn't that a symptom to the disease?

"Oh no, you didn't. May I ask why you're holding the door open?" She asked, stepping out from behind the bookshelf. She started to slowly walk to the counter where the telephone sat.

"Nope," The man replied, popping the 'P' and started to grin. Avery just began to notice details about him. He was probably around her age, maybe a year older at the most. She also noted that he was having a conversation with her. Weren't the diseased not able to talk?

"Oka-" She started to say when the man cut her off.

"I'm just kidding, my friends dared me to get a date for tonight," He said, jerking his thumb outside where Avery noticed a bunch of kids her age standing around, all of them passing around a bottle. It finally struck in her mind that the man standing there was harmless, just a little drunk.

"Really then?" She asked, cocking her brow and grinning slightly. It was pretty funny.

"Yep, so wanna join us?" He asked, suddenly stumbling forward, the door closing with a soft 'ding'.

"Can't, working," She replied, reaching the counter and leaning on it. She watched as the guy frowned and looked outside.

"Fine then, be a bitch," The guy said, suddenly in a bad mood that she said no. She watched as his back stormed outside, the door opening and closing quickly. Avery just sighed and walked over to the door, locking it to make sure no one else came in again that night. Anyways, her shift ended in another half an hour so she would close up early and finish stalking the shelves.

She walked off and finished organising the books, putting them where they belonged. Avery was just grabbing her bag and getting herself ready when she heard scraping on the door. She froze, it sounded like fingernails sliding across the metal surface. Once more she felt her heart palpitate. Slowly walking to the door she looked in the peep hole and noticed an older woman standing there, blood leaking out of her orifices. Avery could hear her moan through the door.

So this is what an infected looks like, Avery thought with an almost detached air about it. She felt slightly sad for the woman who used to occupy the body, a shame that she was no longer there. Looks like I'll be spending the night here, she though, walking over to the desk, taking her coat off and grabbing a book. She would be here a while.