Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far, far away, there was a once normal public library in Everyday Town, USA. A library assistant, named Bonnie, had somehow held sway over management for years, since she always got herself excused from work by being absent for months at a time. She found her power had limits though, for she was fired one day out of the blue. She came storming out of the offices after her meeting with the Circulation Librarian, and declared for every soul to hear, “Hear me now and listen well,” while what appeared to be menacing clouds gathered above her, “this travesty will not stand! You will all pay and pay dearly you will …”

“Is she turning into Dark Willow from Buffy or something?” whispered a library page to one of the other library assistants.

“Silence You!” roared Bonnie the Witch.

The page disappeared right out of sight, while Bonnie continued, “I curse this place this day. You will experience all fiction in this place, firsthand. No one can hide, for you will pay, for this travesty will not stand!” In a flash of light, Bonnie disappeared.

The boss came out of her office and asked, “What just happened?”

Everyone responded that Bonnie was being her overly dramatic self, since nothing seemed to have happened that day.

The next day, around noon or so, a boy appeared out of nowhere, and said, “I am Sam, Sam I Am. I like green eggs and ham.” Then he turned to ask one of the librarians, “Do you know where I can find some green eggs and ham, ma’am?”

The librarian, muttering to herself, said, “Oh great, Dr. Seuss characters.” Out loud, she replies, “No, Sam I Am, I do not know where you can find green eggs and ham.”

Suddenly, without warning, a man stepped out of the book stacks, and said, “Greetings Sam I Am, I am Hannibal Lecter, and I like fava beans and a nice chianti. However, I could probably try some green eggs and ham, would you like to find some green eggs and ham so we can share?”

“I am Sam, I like green eggs and ham, so sure, let us go and eat some green eggs and ham. Lead the way, Hannibal who likes fava beans a nice chianti.”

“Um, Sam, that would really not be a good idea,” interrupted the Librarian.

Bonnie’s curse had woven itself into the very air. The fluorescent lights hummed an ominous tune, and Dewey the cat, prowling along the circulation desk, twitched his tail nervously. Alexandria, the head librarian, hurried in from the archives, arms loaded with overdue notices and a half-finished latte. She froze at the sight of Dr. Seuss’s most famous creation strolling past the graphic novel aisle.

“Excuse me,” she said, blinking hard. “Why do we have a children’s rhyme character asking for lunch alongside a convicted sociopath?”

Sam I Am cheerfully hopped onto a rolling ladder. “Green eggs! Green eggs! Have you any?”

Hannibal adjusted his cufflinks and smiled with polite menace. “I prefer my ham—dare I say—unsullied by chlorophyll. But I’m open to new experiences.”

Alexandria motioned for Nancy Drew, perched high on the mystery shelf, to intervene. Nancy slid down on a rope of book tags and landed gracefully between Sam and Hannibal. “Perhaps this is a misunderstanding,” Nancy suggested. “Sam, Mr. Lecter, why don’t you both wait here while I fetch refreshments from the break room?”

“No refreshments!” Hannibal said, eyeing Nancy’s knotwork. “Just green eggs and ham.”

Sam clapped his hands. “Yes yes yes, let’s find them!”

Meanwhile, in the back stacks, the Arcane Archivist was performing an emergency audit on magical anomalies. She tapped a wand against her clipboard and frowned. “There’s a new flux in the fiction wings. Chapter headings are rearranging themselves, and the spine of Dracula is rattling like it needs seasoning.”

Bonnie—absent until this moment—reappeared in a swirl of ochre leaves and brimstone-scented smoke. She hovered above the return slot, arms crossed. “Enjoying my curse?” she hissed. “Soon, every story in this library will step off the page.”

The lights dimmed. Fictional characters began emerging in droves: Sherlock Holmes carrying Victorian-era suitcases, Elizabeth Bennet sighing dramatically in front of the romance shelves, and Captain Ahab pummeling the nautical section. The hush of the library gave way to murmurs, gasps, and the faint clang of steel on marble.

Alexandria raised her voice. “Order! This is a library, not a literary Comic Con convention!”

Get the book here

The post Guardians of Genre Chapter Sample appeared first on Cliff Ball - Christian Author.