Excerpt: Charlie Gatti: Book of Earth

She saw her broom lying on the floor ten feet away. Between her and it were a hundred living, flying books. Alison pulled her hood over her head more securely, zipped up her jacket, and charged to the broom. As soon as she picked it up, she started waving it about wildly, defending herself from the books. The charge in the air gets more excited, as if the building itself is alive. Suddenly, words started appearing in every wooden surface in the building. The walls, the floors, the bookshelves, and when they started to creep up the broom handle, Alison threw it away from herself and ran towards the front of the store, determined to escape. However, the bookshelves seemed to have reorganized themselves, and she was now trapped in a maze. Panicing, Alison climed up one bookshelf and saw Charlie come through the front door as she reached the top. “Charlie! Help!”