“Yes, Ms. Foster?” The headmaster looked at my fairy-girl.

  “We thought it might be possible that this Veiled One is the cause of the issues with SEEKR,” Steffi explained.

  “I believe you may be right about that.” The headmaster frowned again, and he rubbed a large hand over his face in exhaustion. “Dr. Hastings has informed me that she and her team have gotten a significant part of SEEKR’s systems back up and running, however, there is some kind of major error occurring deep within the AI’s code.”

  “Can’t it be fixed?” Nick wondered.

  “I’m not sure it’s that simple,” Burkhard said. “Dr. Hastings has a much better understanding of the technology than I do, but she made it seem like we were likely going to have to completely reinstall the systems.”

  “So why can’t we just do that?” Nick asked.

  “We may have to, Mr. Walters,” Burkhard said. “The problem there is that it would be reverted to the last known date that SEEKR was properly functioning, and that was at least a few weeks ago from my understanding. We would lose a lot of data, and the process would take at the very least a full day to complete.”

  “That’s not good,” Nala sighed.

  “No, it’s not. We would be thoroughly vulnerable during that time, but I don’t see any other way around it.” Burkhard grimaced, and then he laughed without humor. “Unless we could manage to find some way to get inside the AI’s code and fix the problem at the root.”

  That gave me an idea, and I flipped it over in my mind for a moment before I took a deep breath and went with it.

  “What about Brandon?” I asked. “Maybe he can help fix the code.”

  Chapter 17

  “Brandon?” Headmaster Burkhard repeated, and his eyebrows furrowed with thought. “Brandon Hanes?”

  “Uh, I’m not sure what his last name is.” I shrugged. “He’s on Zahra Mosen-Williams’ team? With Katie and Alice. He has computer-based powers, and I think he might have the exact skills we need for this issue.”

  “Ah, yes.” Burkhard nodded with recognition. “That is a good idea, Mr. Cooper.”

  “Should we go find him?” Nick asked. “I bet Zahra’s teammates are in their rooms.”

  “I believe it is worth trying, Mr. Walters,” Burkhard confirmed. “If you would like to locate Mr. Hanes and explain the situation, I would certainly appreciate the assistance. There are several other situations I am juggling at the moment.”

  “Of course, sir,” I said, and a feeling of satisfaction filled my chest at being useful. Even if all I could do was act as a messenger, I was happy to help with the serious issue of SEEKR’s malfunctions.

  And I knew Brandon would be over the moon. He was always hoping to be more useful around here, and this was definitely his moment to shine.

  “Off you go,” Burkhard said. “If we can sort this out before the evening completely escapes us, that would be a nice bonus.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more, sir,” Steffi said.

  My ladies stood from their seats, and we headed out into the hallway. Without another word, we marched purposefully toward the elevator and rode up to the sixth floor.

  “Let’s get Z first,” Nick said as we stepped off the elevator.

  “Good idea,” Nala agreed.

  “Well, that was quick,” Zahra chuckled when we walked back into the common room of our suite.

  “We’re not even close to done yet, babe,” Nick said, and he walked right over to his exotic girlfriend. “We need Brandon.”

  “Um,” Zahra hummed. “Okay. He’s probably in his room. Come on.”

  Zahra hopped off the couch, and we all fell into step behind her like a row of ducklings. Zahra led us out into the hall and down quite a ways to her assigned dorm room. She walked right into the common room, and I looked around for a second. The room was identical to the dorm I’d shared with Nala, Steffi, and Nick when I’d first arrived at AIMM, and Alice and Katie were curled up on the couch with books in their laps.

  “Hey, guys,” Zahra said. “We need Brandon, is he in his room?”

  “Um, no,” Alice said as she laid her bookmark between the pages, and she set the book down on the coffee table. “I’m not sure where he is, actually.”

  “Shoot. There are some serious issues going down with SEEKR right now,” Zahra explained quickly, and then she gestured at me. “Dylan thinks Brandon might be able to help.”

  “What kind of issues?” Katie asked, and her tone was worried. “Are we in danger?”

  “Not immediately,” I said reassuringly. “Dr. Hastings and Headmaster Burkhard said there’s an issue in SEEKR’s code, and if they can’t fix it, they’re going to have to reboot the system, but that will take a while, and we’ll lose a lot of data. I thought maybe Brandon could get into the code and fix the problem.”

  “I haven’t seen him in hours,” Alice said. “He wasn’t in the cafeteria when we went down for dinner a while ago.”

  “No,” Katie agreed, and she tapped a finger on the end of her nose for a moment as she thought. “I have an idea.”

  Without another word, Katie stood up and disappeared into a door that I could only assume was her bedroom.

  I looked at Zahra and Alice for answers, but they both just shrugged their shoulders at me.

  A moment later, Katie reappeared. She’d yanked a black hoodie over her head and jammed her feet into well-worn sneakers.

  “Come on.” Katie gestured for us to follow her, and once again, we lined up to play follow the leader.

  Katie led us to the elevator, and she pressed the ground floor button. We all piled into the elevator like sardines to save us from having to split up, and a moment later we filed out onto the ground floor.

  Katie started to lead us out of the main building into the crisp night air.

  “Where do you think he is?” Steffi finally asked, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

  “He’s been spending almost all of his free time in the library,” Katie said over her shoulder as she led us toward the building. “At least, that’s what he tells me every time I ask where he’s going.”

  “Is that where he’s been hiding?” Alice gasped, and something seemed to click in her head. “I was starting to wonder what he was up to, I kind of hoped he’d found a girlfriend or even a boyfriend, and he was just keeping it from us.”

  “Nope.” Katie shook her head, and she grimaced at her taller teammate. “Not unless it’s one of those catfish kind of situations.”

  “Ugh, I hope not,” Nala groaned. “Catfish are the worst.”

  “Come on, we better hurry,” Katie said, and she jogged up the library stairs.

  “Good evening, everyone,” Mrs. Wright said softly. “In need of a bit of last minute research for something?”

  “We’re looking for Brandon,” Alice explained in a hushed tone. “Have you seen him?”

  “Yes, I believe he’s still here somewhere,” the librarian confirmed. “Probably downstairs, like usual. If you could be a dear and let him know I’ll be locking the doors shortly?”

  “Of course, Mrs. Wright.” Katie nodded, and she headed off toward the back of the building.

  “Downstairs?” Nick mouthed to me in confusion.

  I’d never been to this part of the library before, and I was curious as to what kinds of books were in the back. Before I could take a look around, though, Katie pushed open a simple metal door against the far back wall of the library, and she motioned for us to follow her.

  Everybody looked at Katie with questions in their eyes, but Katie just ushered us through the door into the dimly-lit stairwell.

  “What’s down there?” I asked.

  “Just the lower level to this library,” Katie explained with a smirk.

  “There’s more?” Nick asked with wonder in his voice. “Woah.”

  Zahra cocked a dark eyebrow at her boyfriend, and she chuckled at his bafflement.

  “You haven’t spent much time in libraries, have you?” Zahra asked.

  “All the good books are on the first floor.” Nick shrugged. “I haven’t needed to venture further than upstairs before.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t know this part of the library was still open,” Nala admitted.

  “Technically, yes,” Katie said, and our footsteps echoed through the stairwell as we descended to the library’s basement level. “AIMM keeps the old computers down here, and some of the out of date books.”

  “That makes sense,” Steffi said thoughtfully. “AIMM doesn’t seem like the kind of place to throw anything away.”

  “The computers are all still hooked up, too.” Katie nodded. “They’re from the late nineties, but most of them still work. They’re not bad, just old, so nobody ever comes down here to use them.”

  “Makes sense,” I murmured.

  We hit the last stair, and Katie pushed open another door. The stale smell of dust and old books hit me in the face, and for some odd reason, it didn’t give me the usual sense of calm that I got from such smells.

  The basement level of the Academy’s library was poorly lit with old fluorescent tube lights, and at least half of them had burned out. Several more flickered intermittently, and there was a thick layer of dust on everything I could see. Rows and rows of metal shelves were filled with old books, boxes of what I assumed were paper records that had been entered into SEEKR’s databases over the decades, and a few stacks of ancient-looking newspapers. Clearly, this part of campus was a very unused space, even though it was available for cadets to access.

  A shuddering, wheezing sound echoed from the far side of the basement, and I instantly recognized it as the gasping breathing of somebody in the midst of a violent panic attack.

  “He’s back there,” I said, and I quickly started jogging toward the sounds of panicked breathing.

  It was easy enough to find Brandon by following the sounds of his anguished sobbing, and when I came around the last stack of shelves, I found him curled tightly in on himself in the corner of the floor.

  Several ceiling tiles were missing from this area of the basement, and a few wires hung loosely above Brandon’s head. I glanced quickly at them to make sure there was no electricity flowing freely from them, and once I felt it was safe, I slowly stepped closer to the shaking form of Zahra’s teammate.

  “Brandon?” I kept my voice low and gentle as I approached the sandy-haired guy like a terrified and caged animal. “It’s Dylan.”

  Brandon didn’t say anything, he just continued gasping for air between shuddering sobs, but he didn’t shy away from me when I stooped down next to him.

  “It’s okay, you’re safe,” I whispered in what I hoped was a soothing voice.

  I reached out to lay my hand gently on his quaking shoulder, and Brandon shuddered violently with what felt like relief to no longer be alone. I made gentle shushing sounds, and I patted my hand gently on his shoulder for a moment. His breaths came in slower gasps, but I could see his pulse thrumming frantically at the base of his neck.

  “Shhh,” I hummed softly. “You’re safe, and you’re with friends. It’s okay.”

  Something I said clearly was the wrong thing because a fresh wave of panic raced down Brandon’s spine, and he curled tighter in on himself. His gasping sobs wracked through his chest, and his panic and fear were palpable. I could feel the sandy-haired guy’s terror like a presence in the basement between us.

  I had a sudden idea, and I mentally reached out to Zofia. My mind-control dragon instantly wriggled attentively under my skin, and I could sense that she wanted to help. Then I silently asked her if she could send soothing energy to Brandon through me without her being physically present. I didn’t think summoning a huge spooky-looking dragon in the middle of the guy’s panic attack was the best idea, so I was relieved when Zofia seemed to be willing to try.

  I took a deep breath and focused on the image of a sort of channel for Zofia’s energy. I envisioned a path up from my thigh, through my torso, and down the length of my arm to where my hand sat on Brandon’s shaking shoulder. Then I silently instructed Zofia to go for it, and I hoped for even a touch of her calming energies.

  “Shhh,” I hushed Brandon gently, and I felt Zofia’s calming energy flow through me like a lazy river of Zen. I released the energy slowly into Brandon as I continued to whisper shushing sounds to him.

  It took a few minutes, but Brandon’s quaking breaths began to even out, and the violent shuddering of his shoulders slowed. A shaky hiccup escaped from his covered face, and I smiled to myself because I knew it was working.

  I turned back to the rest of mine and Brandon’s teams that had waited silently several feet away as I worked to calm the sandy-haired guy’s panic attack.

  The ladies all watched with deep concern in their eyes, and bated breath. Nick studied Brandon’s scrunched-up form like he wanted to help, but he just had no idea what to do. I nodded for Nick to come over and join me, and he tentatively stepped closer. My best friend looked at me desperately for guidance, and I silently mouthed, “Let him know you’re here.”

  Nick nodded at me and began to reach out a hand toward Brandon’s shaking back, but then he pulled back at the last second and sat on the faded old carpet instead.

  “B?” Nick said gently, and Brandon’s breathing eased another notch.

  I nodded encouragingly at Nick, and I directed another wave of calming energy from Zofia into Brandon’s shoulder.

  “It’s Nick,” the blond nymph said a little awkwardly. “We’re here for you, dude.”

  Finally, after several more seconds, and a third wave of Zofia’s gentle energy, Brandon’s breathing was almost normal, and he peeked up at us from behind his arms.

  “It’s okay,” I murmured again.

  “N-n-no,” Brandon stuttered and another hiccup escaped. “I-It’s n-not.”

  “You’re safe,” I tried a different tactic. “We’re here with you, and we won’t let anything happen. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  “I-It’s a-already happening,” Brandon’s voice shook, and I could see unshed tears in his eyes.

  “What do you mean?” Nick asked slowly.

  “It’s been ha-happening for weeks,” Brandon sobbed, and the tears overflowed down his cheeks. “Maybe longer, I can’t tell anymore.”

  “What’s been happening for weeks?” I asked gently. My eyes darted to Nick, and I could see he was as confused and worried as I was.

  “I-I’ve b-been,” Brandon gasped, and he took a shuddering breath before the words came out in a rush. “I’ve been losing time.”

  I heard a few gentle gasps of concern from the ladies behind us, but I ignored them and maintained my focus on Brandon.

  “Blacking out,” the sandy-haired guy elaborated, and he heaved another slightly less shaky breath.

  “Go on,” I encouraged quietly. I could tell Zofia’s presence was having a positive effect on his panic, and I mentally thanked her.

  “I-I wake up places,” Brandon muttered, and his eyes flicked around to our surroundings, “and I don’t know how I got there, or how long I’ve been there.”

  “Is this happening often?” I asked.

  “It didn’t start that way,” Brandon said miserably, and he propped his chin on his forearms. “I thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep, I used to sleepwalk when I was a kid, and I’d get so tired sometimes that I felt like a walking zombie. So I tried to make sure I was going to bed at a decent time, but it didn’t help. Every few days or so, I’d find there were at least a few hours that I just couldn’t remember.”

  “Have you had any head injuries on missions?” Elisabeth asked gently.

  “No.” Brandon shook his head emphatically. “Then the blackouts started getting worse.”

  Zahra’s sandy-haired teammate was silent for a moment as he stewed in his own anxious misery, and I squeezed his shoulder gently.

  “Go on,” I murmured.

  “I started to lose bigger chunks of time,” Brandon went on, and his voice started to sound a little numb. “Then, whole days would start coming up blank. I didn’t remember full conversations I’d had with Katie or Alice. I don’t even remember the first time I met you, Dylan.”

  I nodded reassuringly at the sandy-haired guy, and I thought back to the odd way he’d looked at me the second time we’d ever spent any time together. He’d looked at me like a stranger whom he only knew through second-hand accounts from mutual friends. I’d thought it was odd at the time, but I’d shrugged it off as part of his self-conscious personality. Now I understood that it was because he didn’t remember our first meeting.

  “Do you remember anything about these blackouts?” I asked, and I wracked my brain for what to do.

  “No.” Brandon groaned wretchedly. “I just wake up in weird places and find out a whole day has gone by since the last thing I can remember. Sometimes it’s longer than that, sometimes I’ve lost two days.”

  Brandon hid his face away behind his folded arms once more, and a fresh wave of sobs trembled out from his chest. The poor guy was terrified of what was happening to him, and I couldn’t blame him. It was bad enough to lose a night to some heavy drinking and wake up all hungover, but at least then he would have known the cause of the blackout. This was so much worse, and it was clear that these blackouts were entirely outside of Brandon’s control.

  I wondered briefly if the guy had a brain tumor or some weird form of epilepsy. I was about to suggest we take him to Dr. Hastings to be examined, but his next words stopped my thoughts clear in their tracks.

  “I wondered if I had brain cancer or something,” Brandon scoffed. “At least then I’d know there was an actual reason for what’s going on. Doesn’t exactly explain the silverware, though.”

  “The silverware?” I asked. “What about the silverware?”

  “In the cafeteria,” Brandon clarified, and he dragged his sleeve under his nose. “I think I’ve developed an allergy to whatever they use to wash the silverware.”

  “What makes you say that?” I narrowed my eyes at the sandy-haired guy.

  “My skin burns whenever I touch it,” Brandon said, and his eyes bounced from my face to Nick’s and back again.

 

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