Frenzied footsteps echoed throughout the halls as I fled from the dangerous, yet sleek, looking bald man in the suit, who'd blocked the library exit. Rounding corner after corner, I searched for a reprieve from the endless shelves and languishing texts in a variety of sections, with the man still slowly, tauntingly, pursuing at a walker's pace.

  Still, no exit sign made itself known during the heart-racing ordeal. Stopping to catch my breath, and feeling my chest cavity pulsating with a frightened fervor, I hid behind a half wall to catalogue the efforts of my pursuer.

  No one was there. I looked all around the visible areas, peeking out with fearful precision.

  I wasn't imagining anything...was I? In my efforts to prove how strong and independent I was, I'd assured everyone that I felt safe...but maybe that wasn't entirely the truth with the situation at hand.

  Could I have perceived that man as a dangerous assailant, when he may have just been a regular guy? Maybe I'd even imagined him altogether?! Scattered thoughts hurtled endlessly within my mind, bouncing around with disastrous implications.

  CREAK. Something sounded from somewhere in the large room, and caused a jolt deep in my bones. The man quickly passed between a set of tall standing shelves and disappeared from sight, moving with greater rapidity than before.

  Drawing closer, I determined it was time to move, and sprinted down an adjacent hall, now hearing clapping shoes bounding from a distance behind me. The walking tour seemingly ended, but I wasn't about to look back to confirm my thoughts.

  As I entered a wider clearing, I rounded into a long room that was lined with desks, and another exit towards the back. Motoring towards the back, I slid behind a larger desk that offered full coverage, sidled up to walls of stocked books, and a glass frame with an old text emblazoned in front of me. Resting a hand on a nearby sliding library ladder, I looked up and over to search the area I'd just come from.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Silence permeated the library, the man now gone from my presence, and the room empty from all angles. I watched on for minutes longer, but no one ever came through. Sitting back on my knees, I sighed relief. Maybe I'd lost him.

  Just then, a glint shone in the reflection of the glass piece in front of me. A thin metal wire was unwound, glistening under the amber lights, and shone the man entering the room behind me, and in for the kill.

  Pushing off the rolling ladder, It slid around and surprised the man, as he avoided it with a step backward and I raced back through to the opposite end of the room where I'd just came from.

  Keeping the pressure on, I ventured down all the ways I'd come from until I hit a cross section, where the the man skidded in from a side hall, cutting me off again.

  Pivoting, I skirted down another hall and found my way through another area which looped me back around and into the main entry hall. I used the last of my energy to push past the exit and down the steps into the open air of the Rome.

  Twisting as I worked my way down the steps and onto solid ground, I looked behind me for any sign of my pursuer. but no one was there.

  AH! I yelped as I bumped into someone else, feeling arms wrapping around me.

  “Too many of those scary books in there?” A familiar voice quipped, as Jack smiled that cheeky grin...which sometimes I just hated...loved to hate...okay, loved in general, especially now.

  “Are you following me?” I asked abruptly, in confusion.

  “No, just came to pick you up.”

  “How'd you know I was here?” I gasped for air.

  He tapped the bracelet on my wrist with his pointer finger, while holding my hand gently.

  I cycled air profusely, as I head tipped up and down. “Someone was following me...tried to kill me...a bald man in a nice suit.”

  “Sure he just didn't want your number?”

  “The razor wire was a good enough sign.”

  Jack's head tilted, playing with the thoughts in his mind. “Sounds like a professional this time. Knew I shouldn't have let you out of my sight. Wait...” his demeanor turned grim. “Did you say he was bald?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “how come?”

  Jack breathed hard. “Things just became much more complicated.”