Robert lived his life like many other people on Earth, he just had a specific fear instilled within him from his love of books. Like many others, it was hard to disregard the constant negative information being doled out in every form of media. This caused him to fear the loss of knowledge and books that had provided him solace in times of need in his life. He collected and stored thousands of books ranging from web novels to college textbooks on physics. This was an irrational fear of his until the world changed and that knowledge gave him a step above everyone else.

The air rolled through the car buffeting past all four windows as he smelled the rain on the way for tonight. A storm was coming this evening and would make the perfect environment for him to sink into the rest of today’s book.

Everyone said he read too much and needed to get out more and enjoy the spirit of the world, but Robert was perfectly content enjoying the spirit and solace a new world would give him in each new book he delved into.

He collected books and information religiously ever since he was a kid. A specific story worried him about the deletion of information and knowledge and what that would mean for society as a whole. Maybe he thought too highly of himself, or maybe his fears were unfounded, but he still continued to this day with his obsession.

Robert finally pulled into his driveway after the 25-minute trip home, anxious to get inside and begin absorbing new information from within the pages of the story. He stepped out of the car and walked towards the front door as the colorful leaves crunched under his feet. His cat Greta, waiting in the window next to the door, mewled at him as he fumbled for the right key to open his sturdy front door. The door unlocked with a firm click and he glided into the house as Greta jumped out of the window and laced between his legs with a satisfied purr.

His house was, for all intents and purposes, a library. There were bookshelves covering every wall within the home, filled edge to edge with pages. However, this couldn’t even compare to the collection he had comprised on his phone. The 1 Terabyte SD card was completely full of web novels, textbooks, dissertation papers, published novels, comics, manga, and anything else he could get his digital hands on.

He nestled down in the nook next to the window and opened Candle to the book he was listening to in the car. He scrolled back to the beginning of the chapter and picked up where he left off. This night was going like any other as he heard the waves of thunder roll in through the trees. The words started to take over as this reality faded out and he was absorbed into the fantasy he was currently reading. All else disappeared and he read through the chapters at an unbelievable pace until he was on the last page of the final novel in this series.

Robert stood up and walked to the kitchen, thirsty from his hours of indulgence. Greta hopped up and followed him, prancing over to her bowl protesting loudly for new water. The cat hated to drink stale water and had to have it changed multiple times a day. He leaned down and grabbed the dish, emptying it into the sink as he turned on the cold tap.

While he was staring at the water thinking over the adventure he had just completed, the world started to get dark and his body felt heavy. He dropped the dish in the sink and collapsed on the floor, water still pounding through the sink as hard as it was in the storm outside. Loud thunder cracked and wind blew, causing the house to moan as it held out against the storm. The only light he could see coming from flashes of powerful lightning through the creaking windows. Eventually, this too faded as he lost all sense of everything around him and drifted into unconsciousness.