Daisy was sitting alone on the bleacher while her classmates continued to run laps around the field. She glared at two students slowing down to catch their breath. She scoffed bitterly at them.
“Can't even finish one lap around the field? How pathetic?” She said under her breath.
“Go easy on them, will you? Not all of us can be a star athlete like you?” a voice spoke startling Daisy out of her thoughts. She looked to the side to find a boy smiling at her. She rolled her eyes that is obnoxious smile and ignored him. Her eyes traveled to her left leg, covered with thick plaster and the crutch leaning against her leg.
She had injured her leg while running a few days ago, because of which, she was unable to enjoy one thing she actually liked anymore, running.
“How does it matter that I am amazing at the track, the coach said I can’t run in the opening game,” Daisy stated flatly.
“What? He is not allowing you to run? But that’s crazy,” Jaden exclaimed as he came to sit close to Daisy.
She gave him a passing glare before she scooched to give him more space. Even though he could be annoying, Jaden was her oldest friend. Daisy usually had trouble making friends, and even the ones she made did fall out sooner. It was only Jaden’s persistence that kept their friendship alive. She sighed, her voice becoming low with disappointment.
“The doctor said my leg was fractured from two separate places, and that there could be more issues later. He said I might not be able to run professionally ever again.”
After saying this, Daisy raised her head to look at Jaden and he looked sad, his brows frowned with sympathy. Daisy bristled at his expression and opened her mouth to tell him off when another voice interrupted,
“Jaden, do you have a broken bone too?” the gym teacher shouted as he found him sitting next to Daisy.
Jaden immediately leapt to his feet, “No, sir.”
“ Then run. And how about you cover extra laps for Daisy as well, huh?” the teacher shouted.
Jaden rolled his eyes and turned to give Daisy a last toothy grin before sprinting away, his toned calf muscles shining under his dark skin. Daisy frowned, her eyes landing on her legs again.
“What if I can’t run like that again?”
The thought scared her and she quickly straightened up, her hands pushing the strands of curly tight hair away from er face.
Once the gym class was over, Daisy made her way to the cafeteria alone while others were still changing their sweaty clothes. She walked with the help of her crutches, slower than usual. It didn’t help that the school crowd acted as if they had never learnt any kind of discipline or tasted food before.
They rushed together, ignoring what or we they bumped into. Daisy tried to squeeze herself over to the side but a particularly big guy ran past her, pushing her crutch out of her grasp. She lost her balance and was about to hit the floor when someone held her hand stopping her fall.
“Are you okay?” Jaden asked in concern. He kept a firm grip on her arm as he stooped to pick the crutch. Daisy grabbed the crutch from his hand and violently pulled her arms from his.
“I don’t need help,” Daisy declared angrily.
“Okay, that’s cool,” Jaden said as he backed away, his arms raised in surrender.
Daisy scoffed before turning away from him. She hated feeling vulnerable and the way Jaden had started to treat her as if she was a fragile glass annoyed Daisy to no end. But he wasn’t the only one who was treating her differently. Even her teammates and coach was treating her like a small child. Remembering their pitiful eyes and concerned smiles made Daisy lose her appetite.
She knew if she joined her teammates’ table, they would stop talking about the upcoming game as if they were guilty. Not wanting to deal with this anymore, Daisy decided to skip school. She knew about a back gate that was usually empty and made her way towards it. She had never snuck out of the school before, but she didn't know what had stopped her before.
“Not like my parents would even care if the school told them I went missing,” she thought strengthening her resolve further.
After successfully sneaking out of the school, Daisy made her way to the public library. There was a book about celestial beings that she was meaning to read for a long time. She entered the library and was immediately greeted by the old librarian behind a large wooden desk.
“Daisy, dear, you're here early today. What about school?” the librarian asked in her sweet voice.
“The last two classes were canceled,” Daisy stuttered out flustered for being caught. Fortunately, the librarian believed her, making Daisy sigh in relief.
“ Did you receive the book I had ordered last week?” Daisy asked.
“Not yet dear, I am trying to get it for you but it seems like the publisher is stopping its distribution.”
Daisy nodded at the librarian disappointed and her face contorted into a frown.
“That’s strange. It's okay. I will just look around then,” Daisy said to the old lady turning around to leave when the librarian called her back.
“Oh dear, could you please place these old books in the back room? They're too damaged to be lent out anymore,” she requested handing Daisy two torn books.
“Sure,” Daisy replied tucking both the books under her arm. She made her way ran through several bookshelves enjoying the quiet of the place.
She finally reached the storage door at the end of the building were books that were no longer available for the public restored. The corridor became even more vacant as no one visited this part of the library. She opened the lock with the key the librarian had given her and entered the dark room. The smell of old books greeted her immediately. She fumbled to find a light switch. When she couldn't feel it anymore. She gave up and placed the two books on a random shelf before digging into her bags. As she used both her hands, she let go of her crutch, leaning on a shelf for support instead, but her shoulder brushed against an object making it the fall with a thud and a cloud of dust.
Finally grasping her phone, she turned the flashlight on and bent down to pick the fallen object. She focused the flashlight toward the object to discover a thick hardcover book. Aloud gasp left daisies mouth as she looked at the cover. It was of a dark silhouette covered in a black cloak. Beside him was a tall scythe, its blade shining dangerously in the moonlight. She picked up the thick book surprised at its weight. She brought it closer to her face to observe it better
“Death, the pre-eminent creation of God,” Daisy read the title out loud. The writing was embossed on the cover and shone brightly even in the dark. Daisy’s heart began to race with excitement. She love to mythologies and anything that involved the existence of death.
She tried to open the book but at that moment, a faint sound of a scream interrupted her excitement She closed the book, tucked in securely under her arm before grabbing her crutch and walking out of the room to inspect the commotion. As he came out of the room and looked towards the entrance her eyes widened at the site.
Multiple bookshelves containing books older than her were caught on fire. Dry paper and Wood had flamed the fire faster than possible. As she stood there horrified, the fire started to spread towards her. The realization finally hit her and she started walking hurriedly, her broken legs slowing her pace considerably. She coughed as the smoke started to thicken, the closer she got to the exit.
She limped forward, heaving with each step and focusing only on the entrance that was not much further. Suddenly she was reminded of the old librarian and she turned towards her desk to find her she looked around wildly calm.
“Mrs. Barden, Mrs. Barden.”
“Daisy,” a voice called out.
Daisy looked around trying to locate the voice until finally, her eyes landed on the frail body on the ground. She rushed towards the librarian and fell next to her.
“Mrs. Barden. Are you alright?” she said in panic, “We have to get out of this place quickly,” Daisy continued.
“I can't,” the old woman groaned, pointing towards her stomach.
Daisy gasped when she saw Mrs. Barden’s stomach blackened and burned. Daisy clenched her body closer to hers as she heard the distant sound of a fire engine.
“Don't worry, Mrs. Barden, the fire department is here to save us.”
As Daisy tried to restore the old librarian, a soft footstep echoed through the sound of burning wood. Daisy turned towards the footstep relief at the firemen were hearing. Her desperate face fell even more as the figure became visible under the glowing light. She stared dumbstruck at the time end looming over her.
His face was covered by a black cloak. But as he spoke, she could see his bright red lips twisting and a smirk.
“ Oh my, my. What do we have here?” the man said, his voice laced with amusement.
Even in the burning room, a shiver went through her body and her stomach dropped. Daisy peeled her eyes away from his face and towards the sharp blade shining gold, reflecting the red of the fire, and old memories suddenly came to her mind and she whispered under her breath, this realization dawned on her, “It's a scythe.”
