A World Without Him

A World Without Him

Chapter 7

(TW some violence, a collapsing building, and someone having a panic attack)

Tang was back there. Again. The void with the voices, the hands, the dragging, the scraping, the orange.

He was tired at this point. Of every night he spent getting dragged over and over just for someone sick amusement if he had to guess.

Maybe this was his punishment for something in his past life. To take his sanity and break it bit by bit until he couldn't take the sight of this place anymore.

But this time was also different.

Only silence met his ears as he floated. Nothing grabbing, glowing, or whispering in his ears. A sense of foreboding welled up in his chest.

Then he heard sounds. It wasn't anything like the previous encounters he had with this place. Only continuous buzzing reached his ears instead of the usual incomprehensible whispers.

Tang closed his eyes, hoping someone would let him stay away from whatever was making that noise. And as he said previously, he's never been that lucky.

The buzzing suddenly became violent as Tang was pushed upwards by a strong force. He could barely breathe as he clawed at whatever was dragging him up before realizing... they were cicadas. Bright orange cicadas.

Thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of cicadas were swarmed together. They were buzzing and flying around him like a barrier as that thing kept pulling him up.

Tang could hear small whispers coming from them, and he wasn't sure if he was even alive right now as the cicadas landed on his scarf. The whispers loud and clear.

'Stay' 'Don't leave' 'You have to stay here' 'Danger' 'You can't go' 'Danger' 'Somethings coming' 'You won't be able to handle it' 'Stop struggling' 'Danger' 'DANger' 'DANGER'-

'JUST. STAY. HERE.'

The cicadas started to glow, almost radioactive before blinding Tang until everything was just a nice, bright, neon orange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up in a cold sweat had become a reoccurring thing for Tang as he sat up violently, taking in harbored breaths.

He smacked a palm to his head, rubbing his temple before throwing himself back onto the bed. He had woken up before his alarm again.

So, he had decided to pull himself together and start getting ready. It would give him more time to pack extra snacks for him and Allan, which was a good bonus in Tang's opinion.

When he finally had a plan in motion, he pulled himself up and out of bed. He lazily walked through his small apartment, taking his brush from the bedside table to the bathroom.

And then he sat on the toilet seat while he brushed his hair, not styling it in any way before putting the brush down and taking up a toothbrush.

Now, with his mouth tingling from the toothpaste, Tang went to his fridge to look for something good for today.

He settled for some apple slices, watermelon, and some jumbo blueberrie boxes he had found for 40% off. He threw them into some plastic containers before fixing up a small bagel with green tea to drink later for lunch.

It's about 6:08 AM now, and he's fully ready for work. Which he needs to be at in a couple of hours. And the walk is only 15 minutes...

So he decided to busy himself with menial tasks he never got around to doing, like piling his books by genre and author or rearranging his closet of knick knacks from over the years. Anything to keep his mind and hands busy.

He was waist deep in the closet when his alarm suddenly went off next to his ear, making him jump and smack his phone with a good amount of force. "Owwwww," Tang whined as he picked up his newly cracked and dead phone.

He cursed as he tried all the buttons, nothing turned on, then walked to his couch, and threw it on the cushions. He sat himself right next to it as he stared up to the ceiling again.

He laid there only seconds before sighing heavily and popping himself back up, grabbing his messanger bag and walking out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The walk to the library was uneventful; it was plain, even. Nothing caught his attention, and everything seemed eerily calm with only one or two people out and about like him.

It was probably because he left earlier than usual, but Tang still had a bad feeling.

Maybe it was because of the lack of commentary his thoughts usually made. No snark comments or observations popped into his brain like they usually did for the past weeks.

He's glad they're gone, to be honest. He thought he was going insane for the first few round of them, and this probably means he's getting over whatever he was stuck with.

The library slowly came into sight as he continued to walk. He was almost right on time as he unlocked the doors, letting himself in with his badge.

He walked steadily to his desk, throwing his messanger bag to the side and plopping himself in his chair, mentally readying himself to start opening up the library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allan came about 10 minutes later, surprised at Tang arriving before him and even starting to power up the library's computers.

"Hah! Nice to see you up and early!" Allan greeted him as he went towards the back to put away his backpack and jacket.

Tang snorted before answering. "Heh, not by choice for your information." He jested, followed by a quick laugh from Allan.

Allan came back fairly quickly, walking up to the front of Tang's desk. "So, what are we doing today?" He asked.

"It's about the same, just without the overwhelming decor and crowds of children like yesterday," Tang replied, getting up from his spot to start looking for the carts.

Which... he forgot where they were located. He internally sighed before looking back to Allan. "Do you remember where the carts are?" He asked in a grated tone.

Allan just laughed at Tang's crappy memory and gestured to follow him through the shelves.

After they got the carts and put up the assigned books, not much else was left for them to do. Nothing was missing, broken, or in need of reorganizing.

Tang was fine with this as he just pulled out some books from his messanger bag to read, but Allan became restless. He kept pacing through the library, seemingly in need of something to do.

When he finally sat down next to Tang after wearing himself out, Tang thought of a way to help. "Hey, Allan?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Allan answered, a bit absent-mindedly. "Do you like Monkey King?" "Monkey King? Well, uh, yeah, I like to read a bit of fiction based around him." Allan said quickly, seemingly not ready for the question.

Tang smirked before pulling another book out of his bag. "I have an extra book here called Monkey Cop: the Scarlet Tape. It's a mystery/action comic based on Monkey King as a cop, solving crime. It is a bit bloody, but it has amazing art and a good storyline. This is the first from the series, and I can bring the next editions if you like it."

Allan seemed a bit hesitant, staring at the comic for a hood second. Tang huffed, amused, before speaking again. "It's not like we have anything else to do, kid. And besides, I've been waiting for someone else to get into this series for a while so I can rant about theories with them."

Allan sighed before taking the book out of Tang's hand and opening up to the first page. "Okay, okay. I'll read this. It does seem interesting, but if it turns out trash, never recommend me a book again." Allan half joked.

Tang laughed at his declaration, turning back to his own book. "Sure, but I promise it's good."

Time passed by as the duo just read in each other's company, Tang having to pause and bookmark a couple of times to answer questions or check out books.

Allan started reading out of boredom but eventually seemed really invested, mu.bling theories and audibly gasping at some scenes. Tang took it as a win before reading a passage from his own book again.

About an hour and a half had passed before Allan closed the comic dramatically, slamming it on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Tang calmly closed his own book before looking back to Allan. "Sooo~ what did'ya think?"

"That book is a freaking rollercoaster. Like, the police captain being in cahoots with the criminal undercity was wild." Allan finally answered.

"Haha, yeah. I was so shocked when I first found out. I'm just glad he isn't immeadietly offed in future chapters." Allan twisted his head to Tang. "Wait, he doesn't get killed from being revealed? I thought for sure he would be dead by the next book."

"Heh, nah. He goes through his own character arc, too. I can bring the rest of the current series if you're interested." Tang offers. "Really?! Oh my gosh, thank you!! I just need to find out how Monkey King finds the real culprit behind the Scarlet tape murders!"

He has lots of energy, just like Mk. Tang thought. He chuckled to himself as Allan continued to ramble to him about Monky Cop, adding his theories and opinions about the series here and there.

"And what even happened to the junior officer they lost during the scuffle from chapter 17?! She just disappears, and no one talks about it?!"

Tang replied with the same amount of enthusiasm. "That's what I've been saying! She barely gets referenced in the future books, but she seems to have so many questions and mysteries around her. Apparently, she wasn't even registered at the station-"

BEEEEEP, BEEEEEP, BEEEEP-

An alarm sounded from Allan's phone, shutting down the conversation. Other alarms also sounded throughout the library, echoing through the quiet halls.

Allan quickly checks his phone as his smile drops. "Crap, it's a DA alert." Tang frowns at that. "Another demon attack already?"

"Yeah, apparently." Allan huffed out, shaking slightly as he and Tang stood up together. "Of course now we have to go through the DA protocols." Tang sighed before turning on the library intercom.

"Okay, everyone. A demon attack has been spotted in the city. We advise everyone to follow the yellow arrows stuck everywhere in the library. It'll lead to stairs going down to a reinforced storage-"

The ground suddenly shakes beneath Tang and Allan, causing some books to fall off shelves and the intercom to shut off. "Please go fast!" Yelled Allan as he took Tang's arm and started to quickly maneuver through the books.

Key word tried, as another, more violent shake toppled over the shelves, blocking their way. "Ugh, we need to go the scenic route through the back sections!" Tang shouted, letting Allan drag him again.

They twisted and turned between the layout, trying to get to the room quickly through the enormous building. Small shakes continued, shoving more books to the floor and making the old building creak with every tremor.

"Go left!" Tang yelled out directions as he knew these back sections of the library well. Dust and small debris landed on them from the displacement of the old and unused spaces.

Suddenly, a large tremor came again, knocking even more shelves down with it, some cracking into pieces. Tang and Allan also lost their balance, falling to the floor with a large thud.

"Aw, shit." Tang groaned as he propped himself onto his elbows. Allan was in better shape, just landing onto his back and sitting up right after.

"We have to go now!" Allan yelled, panicking as he grabbed Tang's arm again, ready to sprint off.

But Tang doesn't move from his spot. "Don't. Move." Tang orders Allan, pulling him down to Tang's level. "What are you doing!? We need to run-" "It's almost here. We won't make it time." Tang interrupts, quickly looking over the walls and ceiling.

Allan just stares at him before protesting. "What are you even-"

*BANG*

The loud sound shocked Allan into silence as he looked to the source. A giant hole was suddenly in the library ceiling, with debris falling into the lobby.

Then he noticed what caused the hole. A giant gray demon, at least 8 feet tall, holding a massive sword, fighting against a kid with a red staff.

"Is that...?" Allan trailed off, staring at the standoff between the Monkey kid and that demon. "We need to hide." Tang suddenly whispered as he dragged Allan behind a toppled bookcase.

They can only wait as the fight continued in the library. The gray demon had a knack for dodging Mk's staff, directing sharp slashes afterward when Mk was vulnerable. All those attacks only sliced walls or bookshelves in half, though, luckily missing Allan and Tang.

Then Mk seemed to direct the demons' attacks upwards, probably so they didn't hit any more of the library. However, the ceiling started to crumble from the constant sword strikes, eventually causing one side to start collapsing.

Bigger and bigger pieces of drywall started to surround Tang and Allan. The walls start to crack with the ceiling falling in chunks. "We can't stay here!" Allan shouts, trying to stand up but stopping his efforts after a chunk nearly misses his head.

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Tang shouts, still in his crouched position behind the acrumbled bookshelf. The rumbling got worse and worse as more pieces started to fall.

"I don't know, but we have to do something!" Allan shouts as he stands up. "We have to go back to the entrance!"

"What!?" Tang shouts, alarmed. "But that's in their fighting path! We might get hit with all those extra ceiling bits crashing down, or worse!"

Allan doesn't say anything in response, just staring at the exit. Tang can't focus, only taking in panicked breaths. But, what can they do? They don't have any protection or powers to get through that. It'll take a miracle to survive!

Tang looks up at the cracked ceiling that's slowly caving in closer and closer. But, if they stay here...

Another sword slash hits the wall above them, having it crack at an alarming degree.

He looks back to Allan. "If we do this, we have to go right now!" Allan's eyes widen before shifting to a look of determination.

Allan grabs Tang's arm again before bolting, trying his best to dodge the falling debris and attacks from the fight in the middle. Him and Tang gained small cuts and bruises from the rocks they couldn't dodge, one certain chunk hitting Tang straight in the shoulder, but they kept running.

They jumped through the splintered frames and piles pieces of wall, ducking under odd stick-outs from the walls or collapsed building. His glasses got cracked from being snagged when ducking under debris, but they still had to keep running. To make it back to the entrance.

When the light from the open doors reached their vision, Tang almost cried in relief. It was still a good bit away, but it was in their sights!

They kept running, even when their legs felt like they would fall off at any moment, when they felt like they were going off fumes.

The entrance was almost 20 feet away now. A small rumble from an attack, cracked pieces of the building falling down, the splinyered bookshelf frames blocking their way.

He was almost there. They were almost there! Tang couldn't believe it, but it was right in front of him-

'Stop.'

Tang faltered slightly, tripping over a piece of drywall, but recovered quickly.

'Stop running' 'There's danger!' You have to stop'

Oh great, now they're back and trying to get me killed-

'STOP' 'YOU HAVE TO STOP' 'HE'LL KILL YOU' 'STOP NOW' 'STAY THERE' 'STOP RUNNING' 'STOP STOP STOP STOP-'

Tang jerked his arm away from Allan, stopping in his tracks and reaching to his head. Allan ran a good few feet ahead of him before stopping and turning back to yell. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Suddenly, the ceiling had been struck a final time, sending most of it to the floors below. Tang stared in horror as he saw it fall near the entrance. "ALLAN-"

But he was too late. Allan started to run again, but he was too far away from the entrance to get out in time. Rubble filled Tang's vision before he could see what happened.

"Allan!" Tang shouted as he tried to run towards the entrance. But the next part of the ceiling suddenly collapsed, sending straight for where he was.

Tang could only try to take refuge in the dark corners of the library, against the wall holding his head in his hands.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, pumping erratically as he took uneven breaths. He knew he was shaking as tears rolled down his face.

Tang didn't know how long he was in that position for, only focusing on his breathing and trying to avoid the falling pieces of ceiling...

Wait. His breathing slowly steadied as he came to realize everything was silent. No rumbling, no breaken glass or large thuds from falling debris, no sounds of a fight or falling books.

He slowly raised his head to his surroundings. He was completely encased in broken bookshelves and broken pieces from the walls and ceiling. Slivers of light shine through the holes to his small area of refuge.

He was almost completely unharmed, except for the throbbing pain in his left shoulder and head. All he could hear from outside honking horns and a strong breeze flowing through the wreckage.

Tang just put his head back into his arms, letting tears roll down in this complete silence. He really didn't know what he did to deserve this.

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