The silence in the room was so thick it seemed to cling to their skin. None of
themIt moved. No one wanted to be the first to speak. The book, resting on the
pedestal, continued to pulse with a slow and steady rhythm, like a waiting heart.
Alex felt the room press against his chest, as if the air were shrinking. He looked at
each of them: Sara, Helena, Adrián. They all seemed like themselves… but the
phrase from the book kept echoing in his mind:
"One of you already belongs to
me.""Someone is not who they
think they are…"
Sara was the first to break the silence.
"Alex…" her voice trembled, "do you think…? It can't be real. This is a trick. The
The library wants to scare us.
—And isn't she succeeding? —said Helena, paler than ever.
Adrian remained silent, observing everyone with squinting eyes, liketrying to
decipher something.
Alex lifted theflashlight.
—No one go near the book. No one. Until we understand what it wants.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Helena asked. The
book answered before Alex could. "Ask…"
The four of them froze.
The voice wasn't human. Nor did it seem to come from a single source. It was as if
it resonated within their skulls, behind their eyes, in their bones. It had a soft,
almost seductive tone, but it was coated with something viscous, as if it were
creeping inside them.
Sara stepped back, hitting the wall.
—I don't want to touch it. I don't want to talk about it.
Alex took a step forward, even though every muscle in his body was urging him to
run.the opposite direction.
"What... do you want?" he asked, his voice trembling.There was a silence, a long, deep heartbeat, as if the book were inhaling.
"Knowledge…"
"What kind of knowledge?" Adrian asked, leaning on the pedestal without realizing
Alex pulled him back before his hand touched the book.
The book spoke again.
"The one you hide... even from yourselves."
Sara denied it vehemently.
—It doesn't make sense. It's us! We've all known each other for years!
The book seemed to laugh. A low, unpleasant murmur, inaudible to the ears.but
with the bone marrow.
"Are you sure?"
The walls exhaled. A warm miasma wafted from somewhere unseen. Helena covered
her nose; the smell was faint but strange… a mixture of damp paper and
somethingmetallic, like old ink.
"Alex," Helena whispered, "something else is going on here. It's not just
the book." Alex knew it. Ever since they entered the room, something in
the atmosphere seemed to be
changing slowly, as if the library were watching them… or
evaluating them.
Adrian took a step back, trying to maintain his composure.
"Okay," he said. "If one of us is the imposter, then let's ask questions that only we
know the answers to. Something no one else could make up."
Alex nodded.
—Okay. Let's start with something simple.
But before he could continue, the book spoke again.
"It's not that simple…"
"What belongs to me doesn't know that it no longer belongs to you…"
Sara covered her ears in despair.
—Shut up! Shut up!
Helena approached her and tried to calm her down, but Sara backed away.—Don't touch me. Not yet. Not until… until I know.
Alex felt a slight pain at his temple. The voice from the book left a resonance that
didn't completely dissipate. It was as if the room were inside him, breathing his
breath.same rhythm as his heart.
"We have to get out of here," Helena said. "Break down the wall, scream, anything..."
Adrian denied it.
—This room isn't physical in the normal sense. It's… something else. A created space.
No
Let's break it.
Alex noticed that Adrian was speaking with too much certainty.
"How do you know that?" he
asked. Adrian blinked.
—I'm just… sorry. Architecture isn't real. It's like a solid illusion.
"That doesn't explain anything," Alex
said. Helena raised the flashlight
toward Adrian.
"What are you not telling us?" Adrian
swallowed and took a step back.
"Nothing. I'm just as scared as you are." But
something in his tone wasn't convincing.
Sara stepped forward.
—I remember when we went in… you were the last one to go in. Didn't you hear a
noise behind him? Like… like the wall was moving.
Adrian opened his eyes, surprised.
—What? Sara, don't start with that! You know the library makes noises all the time.
The bookinterrupted.
"Not everyone…"
Alex felt the air tighten.
"Adrian," he said, more firmly, "what did you feel at that moment?"Adrian took a deep breath.
—It was just… a chill. The place is full of them.
Helena walked towards him, observing him attentively.
"Show us your hands."
Adrian hesitated.
-So that?
—Just do it.
She slowly raised her hands. Her palms were normal. But then HelenaHe took his
flashlight and shone it on the backs of his hands.
Alex felt his stomach sink.
The veins on my back didn't move like normal veins. They
throbbed.
Sara let out a small scream.
Adrian took a step back, looking at his hands as if they weren't his own.
—What… what is this? What did you do to me?
The book spoke in an almost soft tone.
"They don't remember the moment they were touched…"
Alex approached Adrian, but not too closely.
"What does that mean?" he asked. "What did you get? Where?"
Adrian grabbed his head, clenching his teeth.
—I don't know… I don't know… I swear I don't know…
Helena stepped back.
—Alex, what if…?
Alex knew it. It was the inevitable
conclusion.He looked directly at Adrian.
"What if it's not you?" Helena asked, almost in a whisper. "What if something inside
you... is?"Adrian shuddered.
"It's me! It's me! No...! I'm not..."
The sentence was left incomplete.
A shadow crossed the walls, so swift that no one could fully see it, only the trace
of an impossible movement. The room exhaled, loudly, like a gigantic sigh.
The lights flickered.
Adrian stood still.
Helena called him.
—Adrian…?
He slowly raised his head.His eyes
were not the same.
The voice of the book resonated within them all.
"The imposter has awakened."
Alex felt the world shrink.They were
not trapped with Adrian.
They were trapped with something that had their shape.
And the book… was the only thing that seemed to know what it was.
✨ If this story touched your heart…What you're reading here is only part of the journey.The complete novel, including all chapters and the final ending, is available on Amazon Kindle 📖
👉 Search on Amazon for "The Library of Madness"A story of faith, inner struggle, and hope when everything seems lost.
Thank you for reading and for walking this path with me 🤍