The Tale of Zero Mallory

One

Time. More time.

That's the only thing that Sage Kwon was wishing for right now as she rushes reading her piled-up references that she can't seem to comprehend until now. f**k, she thought and her eyes quickly drifted to the humongous wall clock hanging on the library's double doors.

Her last semester for her undergrad course will be concluded in two weeks and their final examinations will start in two days but everything she's trying to stuff inside her head just doesn't seem to go in.

She can feel her body getting stiff due to the library's hard wooden chair that she's been sitting in since last night. Sage has been studying for her finals for two weeks now and she's practically building her tent in the athenaeum but she doesn't have a choice.

Her final grades basically dictate what her future is gonna be in law school along with the scholarship she just applied to. She just sent her application and dissertation paper to the Dean last week, and all she needs is to ace this semester to seal the deal.

But the stress and fear keep on piling up that her brain's starting to shut off on its own. Her body's basically running on caffeine now and it's a wonder how she's still moving given the fact that the last time she had a proper meal was two days ago.

"Sage," Maven, Sage's best friend, and roommate called. Maven is under the same program as Sage and they are both planning to take their LSAT at the end of their academic year.

"Your nose is bleeding," Maven pointed out, her voice laced with worry and displeasure, as she passed plies of tissues to her stubborn friend. "I've been telling you to take a break," she scolded Sage in a low aggravated voice that made Sage let out a sheepish smile as she stuffs the rolled tissues in her nostrils. 

"Will you please stop being stubborn and take proper care of yourself?" Maven added as she glared at her friend who's still gripping her book tightly as she cleans up the drops of blood on her desk.

"I'm fine, Mav," she affirmed but Maven was still glaring at her so she clamps her mouth shut. "Just please have a proper meal first," Maven pleaded, "and err... please do take a shower," she added after taking a whiff of her friend's developing stench.

Sage rolled her eyes at her friend's remark but made a gagging motion once she breathed in her odor. Damn, I stink.

Disgusted with her own smell, and slightly frightened with Maven's glare, Sage dropped the book she's been holding and stood up from her seat. 

"Save. This. Seat," she instructed as she reluctantly pushed her empty chair back inside the desk. "I'll be here when you come back, now go, you skunk."

Sage made a face that later on broke into a smile as she makes her way to retreat to her dorm room, silently thanking her friend for reminding her to take a break. It's the thing she always forgets to do: taking a break.

She feels like taking time outs was such a huge waste of time, as humans are naturally short-lived after all. In all honesty, Sage was already downright exhausted but she can't just bring herself to have a rest. Her mind has been working continuously for days now but the number of study materials accumulates at the same rate. 

And while her grades were consistent As, she's well aware that she wasn't a natural-born genius or any of the sorts to just slack off and have a breather. 

Sage was halfway towards the library's exit and was just passing by the stairs leading to the second floor when she suddenly heard a clap of thunder from above. Her head automatically faced the ten-foot-tall windows to check if there's a storm that's brewing in but got weirded out when she saw the sun still high up in the sky.

She looked around to see if there's anyone who heard the thunder as well but they were all busy with their own stuff. She heard another deep rumbling sound came from the higher floor and saw the staircase rattled before she heard another loud thud.

Curiosity taking over her need to shower, she swerved her direction and immediately walked up the library's forbidden sector. She peeked in the librarian's direction and sprinted up the steps when she saw the librarian left its post.

Sage scanned the place and immediately went to a section full of hard-bounded dissertation papers from the famous alumni of their university. Her hand keeps on tracing their names from the glass that covers the shelf as she trudges further down the hall, completely oblivious to where her feet are taking her.

And then she stopped. The sudden change of the racks' arrangement broke her reverie.

She gaped, both in awe and confusion, at the large age-old bookshelves that were towering over her as she admires the ancients books stacked on each rack, each was at least a foot tall. Sage took a step closer to examine what the books were about but the smell of musty, old books attacked her nose.

Sage instinctively took a step back and covered her mouth to muffle the fits of cough she was having. Tears formed in her eyes as she chokes from the particles that got in her lungs and she needed a full minute to finally compose herself.

Once recovered, Sage draped the collar of her hoodie over her nose so she won't breathe in specks of dust that's been lingering in the air. The ancient books heightened her interest as the archaic literary scriptures felt like she's being dragged back in time.

And finally, her steps led her to a room. It was a run-down door with the words 'KEEP OUT' written with a black marker in scrawly penmanship.

Can't they afford a proper placard or something?

 Sage looked down and saw a thick tattered lock hanging from its knob. It was already opened and she tried to remove it from the doorknob it won't budge. Frustrated, Sage decided to just turn the knob on its own.

She was startled when the knob swiftly turned and the excitement was slowly budding in her stomach. Her way around these shelves already felt like a maze and now she reached the destination, and any minute now she is gonna see a treasure once she opened the door.

But all her giddy thoughts flew right out the window when she pushed the door and was greeted with a darkened room.

Sage is an empiricist.

Which means she only believes on what her eyes see, which is why she never believes in ghost, or God, or any spiritual being that may exist. She remembered having this argument with Maven once, on how can she believe in gravity that can't be seen nor touch but in ghosts.

At least gravity can make me fall to the ground, she quipped that earned her a death glare as she flashed a triumphant smile as she won the argument.

That is why Sage was never afraid of dark rooms or abandoned places in the middle of the night ghosts can't touch me was her always mantra. But something about this room screen screams 'warning' at the back of her mind and her gut keeps on urging her to run. But her logical side was screaming back consecutive whys and the next thing she knew was she's already in the middle of the room. 

The sun was high up noon but the only source of light was the opened door where she passed through. Sage stretched out her hand in front to help her navigate the dark chamber she was in until she reached the wall and felt a thick velvet curtain in her hand.

With all her might, she tried to tug the curtain open and after multiple heaves and hos, she finally managed to move the curtain. Letting the sunlight slip inside the room.

"Wow," she said in admiration as she drinks in the wonders of the room's interior.

There's a king-sized bed resting on a corner with a replica of Michaelangelo's The Creation of Adam hanging above it. That's a replica, right? I mean, I'm sure that was, Sage contemplates while marveling at the painting's exceptional quality.

The room was a mix of black and white with a splash of tanned varnished furniture that accentuates the room's neutral palette. There's a white marbled wall in the far-off corner with peculiar patterns, while a contemporary timbered lounge chair was placed in its front.

A modern lighting fixture that somehow resembles the sun was hanging in the middle of the room and there's a long wooden table filled with antique scrolls and literary materials on the other side of the bed.

Sage jaunted enthusiastically towards the table to explore the scripture's secrets when she stepped onto something. Horror washed over her face when a man sprawled on the dark granite floor was lying face down on the ground. His white shirt was covered in dirt while white clouds of dust were clinging to his black jeans. 

Choking back on her shriek, she fell with her butt crashing on the ground as she stared at the unmoving body in front of her. Various thoughts were running her mind and all of it comes back to the conclusion that this man might already be a corpse. 

Relief came down upon her when the man's hand twitched as she heard him groaned in pain.

Despite the throbbing pain on her butt, Sage immediately crawled over to the guy to check over the guy's condition. A gleeful sound escapes from her lips when she saw that the body in front of her wasn't a corpse after all.

But her celebration ended so soon when her eyes drifted to the man's shirt that was slowly being drenched with his crimson blood. "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God..." she uttered as she reaches out to his shirt.

Please don't be dead, she prayed in her head as her hand moved to his face and check his breathing.

But before she can even reach his face, a firm grip caught her wrist making her twist in pain.