Seeking

The train station and my exit from it was all a blur. Signs, taxis, trucks, people in military uniform, all bustled, honked, and swerved off in a great hurry. With my suitcase handle gripped tightly, my feet wandered, senses overloaded, until I found myself before a place whose name felt like home, the Library.

The doors opened to welcome me, then closed behind me, shutting out the city noise. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

Computers lined the middle of the reference wing, but I needed to feel the weight of a few hundred pages bound in leather. The science section started with anatomy and ended with zoology. I pulled out a book at random and opened it.

"If you want to know about bacteria, you need “Introduction to Proteomics” by Liebler."

I jumped. A man pulled out a book and handed it to me. "Are you a librarian?"

"I'm an independent researcher. Librarians were cut years ago. Unnecessary."

"But how can we defeat the aliens without research?"

He slowly smiled. "I'm Harlan."