CHAPTER THREE

Lizzie had no idea how long she sat there, brushing off a few insects and desperately trying not to look up and see if Karr was still there. Suddenly, something touched her shoulder-with a small shriek she backpedaled and fell onto the ground.

Karr. Karr had come up so close to her, and she hadn't realized it. But as soon as she reacted, it was too late. He gunned his engine in reverse, and within seconds he was gone, racing away on the uneven terrain.

"Wait!" Lizzie cried out, but it was too late. She had scared him away, and with a heavy heart she realized that he probably wouldn't be coming back.

So much for trying to be non-threatening.

Her phone buzzed, and she quickly yanked it from her pocket. Maybe it was Kitt-

You still alive? Writing a paper. Need caffeine.

It was her roommate. And she wanted coffee.

Lizzie threw her phone onto the ground.

Why did her roommate have to text her right now? She was in the middle of a crisis, for Pete's sake! Didn't she know that? No. Of course she didn't. Her roommate didn't know a thing about what was happening.

"Breath, Elizabeth," she told herself, forcing herself to calm down. Using her full name helped, a little. "Think," she said.

This whole situation was bad. Something was seriously wrong with Karr, and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it.

But there must be something.

How was she going to get in contact with her family? They never cut off contact with each other...unless there was a serious emergency. Kitt had tried to downplay the situation, but clearly there was something going on. And if someone was attacking FLAG, any way to contact them involving the internet was out of the question. It was too easily compromised, and only Kitt could send a properly-encoded email.

She could go home and tell them what was happening, but she would need to drive Karr to do that. And aside from the fact that he had disappeared in the park somewhere, he wasn't about to even let her touch him. Besides, there was school. And what if Kitt already knew what was going on with Karr? He would only get mad at her for skipping classes.

She could use a friend's phone to call someone at home-no, that one's no good. Using other people's phones is just as bad as the internet. She could ask a friend to give FLAG the message to come as soon as possible, but if things at home are bad it would be a while before they came. And even then, they wouldn't know to bring the Rook.

So, what should she do?

Lizzie stood up and brushed the dirt off her jeans, then picked up her cell phone from where she had dropped it.

"Alright," she said, looking at the text still displayed on the screen, "I'll do everything I can do, and if I stay calm, I'll think of a way to contact them. But first things first," she said, hopping over the bushes and back onto the path, "I'd better get Brittany some coffee before it gets too dark to see."

On second thought, she changed her mind and jumped back over the bushes.

"Maybe I can find out where he went," she said, and although it was getting dark she took off into the woods.

Just what was she hoping to find? She wasn't sure, but she carefully made her way where she thought a car might fit. Those trees were too close together, so he couldn't have come that way. Those trees? He probably did. Ha, look! Tire tracks! She was hot on his trail.

The problem with this forest was that it was in the middle of campus. All of a sudden the trees disappeared, and Lizzie found herself standing on the edge of the woods. A road ran parallel to the woods.

"Oh no," Lizzie said, recognizing where she was.

Diagonally across the street from her was the coffee shop.


It wasn't until she got back to her dorm room and handed her roommate some coffee that Lizzie thought of checking her email. What if Kitt had sent her something? Like, say, an explanation of what was going on?

"Come on, come on, please give me something," she said, firing up her computer, "Yes!"

She had a new email in her inbox. The sender was anonymous, and in this case that was probably a good thing. Risking a virus, she clicked on it.

Lizzie, it began:

Please forgive my harsh treatment of you over the phone. There has been a breach at FLAG, and I suspect that all of our conversations are compromised. Note that there is no need for action on your part. However, you MUST NOT mention either my name or Karr's in communication. They are being scanned for by the intruder.

Well. So that was why Kitt kept cutting her off when she tried to talk to him about Karr!

Once again, the email continued, there is no need for you to worry. This is not your case, and we have matters under control. I am not authorized to tell you anything more except to stress that you do not attempt to contact us again, in case you are targeted by association. I will also stress that we will contact you when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, keep up with your studies and do well in your exams.

Puh, Lizzie scoffed. What if whoever was breaching FLAG found out that she was a Knight and came to her college anyway? Without a way to contact FLAG, Kitt was no help to her there.

Sincerely, K.I.T.T.

P.S. Do not respond to this email. This message will be deleted twenty minutes after being opened.

Lizzie banged her hand on the table. There was no way she could contact FLAG now!

"You okay?" Her roommate asked.

"Just fine, Britt," Lizzie answered.

There must be something she could do. There must be something she could do!

Hmm. Repeating herself wasn't helping.

"I think I need to go for another walk," she said, getting up, "To clear the head."

"You do that," Brittany said, deeply engrossed in whatever she was doing, "Take my flashlight if you want."

"Thanks," Lizzie said, grabbing the flashlight from the foot of her roommate's bed. It might come in handy, since it was dark already.

Lizzie left the room, closing the door softly behind her. She didn't know where she was heading, but maybe one of the coffee places was still open. She could order something and try to think things through...

She was out of the building before she even noticed where she was going, almost crashing into something on the other side of the door. Huh, looks like someone parked their car right up against the door.

Wait a minute.

"Karr?" She asked.

The black vehicle quickly backed up as soon as she spoke, deserting the well-lit area around the door to hide in the shadows.

"Karr! You're back!" Lizzie said, stepping forward.

It was all she could do to stop herself from running forward and landing on his hood in her form of a 'hug'. Karr always hated when she did that. Instead, she took a deep breath and forced herself to step forward slowly and deliberately.

"It's alright, Karr," she said, wondering exactly why Karr had followed her to her dorm building, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The both of them moved slowly, Lizzie forward, and Karr backwards. Liz made sure to keep her steps even and predictable.

"Alright, this is a good place to stop," she said. They were far enough away from the building that they weren't easily seen, especially since there were trees scattered around them, but there was enough open space for Karr to leave if he felt like it. They weren't on a road, though. Karr had backed up onto the grass.

He stopped when she did, and that was when Lizzie sat down.

"So." She said, trying to keep her voice calm and slow, "How are you doing, Karr?"

It was a little hard for her to see him since he blended in with the night, but she could tell that he was shaking again.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" She asked, trying to calm the both of them down, "I wish the moon was out, though. There should be stars, but I think there are clouds covering them."

There was no response.

"The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow," she said, "It's going to be warmer."

It looked like Karr stopped shaking. That was good, at least. What else could she talk about?

"So, um, in one of my classes I have to write a paper on Plato's Analogy of the Cave," she said, saying the first things that came into her mind, "I like that class. We're going to go from Plato to Aristotle soon. You know that Aristotle was supposed to be Plato's successor? But they gave the position to Plato's nephew. Nepotism, you know. That kind of reminds me of a show I saw last week-"

At this point, she expected Karr to interrupt her to tell her to stop rambling. Or to berate her for telling him things he already knows.

But he didn't. He didn't say a single word.

"Um," she said, deciding to change the subject herself, "I don't think you've seen my campus ever since you dropped me off. They've changed a few things. You remember that empty corner where you said the school needed a statue or something? Now they have a statue there. Oh! And they've changed the way the cafeteria looks. They've replaced all the tables and everything. Not that you were ever in there. But it's a change, right?"

Karr was still silent. She couldn't even see his outline anymore. Come to think of it, why couldn't she see his red scanner in the dark? Did he turn it off? Wait. Could he turn it off? She had never thought to ask him that question before.

"Let's see," she said, turning back to the task at hand and racking her brain for something else to say, "I talked with Ashley a few days ago. She's making a scrapbook, and filling it all up with photos they took on the honeymoon. Um, haven't talked with Mom or Dad in a while. I tried earlier, but Kitt keeps blocking me from FLAG. It makes me wonder what it is that's going on over there, you know? And what happened to you. Kitt said you were out on a mission, but wouldn't say anything about it."

She glanced in the dark at the spot where Karr was, trying to spot his outline.

"Where are you, anyway?" She asked, "You blend in with the dark really, really well."

She stood up to change her position, hoping to see that all-too familiar black silhouette.

"Wait a minute," she said, stepping forwards.

She could see a light off in the distance. It probably belonged to a biker or someone doing some night jogging. The problem was that this tiny pinprick of light was moving right through the spot where Karr should have been.

In other words, Karr wasn't there. She had been speaking to thin air.

"Well," she said, sighing, "Guess you can be sneakier than I thought."

One moment her friend and partner was there, and the next he wasn't. What was going on here?

Karr wasn't acting right. He didn't recognize her. He hadn't said a word since she first saw him, and he didn't seem to mind driving in the grass.

Lizzie's eyes opened wide.

The grass! Why was Karr so often in the grass? Earlier that day he had driven through the forest like it was nothing. Just now he had backed up onto the grassy field near her dorm. He wasn't using the road. Why not?

Then it hit her like a thunderbolt. Karr had forgotten the rules of driving. He parked in front of the front door of her building, instead of in a parking space. Granted, she had seen him driving on the road. But he could have just been imitating the cars around him, after all, Karr always was a quick learner.

Lizzie didn't want to admit it, but Karr had to have amnesia. It was the only logical explanation for his strange behavior. In fact, it was the only explanation for his behavior.

And when she thought about it, she had known that all along. The question was, how was she going to help him regain his memory?

Thoughts do not take long to cross the mind, and for Lizzie these thoughts took less than a third of a second. What took her out of these thoughts was the sudden action of something rubbing up against her leg, and it wasn't a bug. With a small gasp, she jumped forwards and turned around as quickly as she could to defend herself.

Her eyes met a flashing red scanner.

"How?" she asked.

Talk about being sneaky. Karr had somehow come up behind her. How had he done that? He recoiled a little when she jumped away from him, but at least he didn't run away like the last time they had surprised each other.

"Sorry Karr," Lizzie said, forcing herself to relax, "You just startled me, that's all."

Silence.

"So," she continued, noticing that Karr hadn't run away from her yet, "What are we going to do next?"

Karr didn't move, other than his scanner. Lizzie was thankful that he hadn't turned it off again. He was close enough now that she could almost touch him.

"Do you remember anything that happened?" She asked, "Anything at all?"

Again, no answer.

Lizzie opened her mouth to speak again when Karr started flashing his headlights at her. Slowly first, then quickly-

"What?" she asked, turning to look behind her, "Is something wrong?"

But no, Karr didn't seem too worried. He stopped flashing his lights and turned them off. Then he turned his lights back on and began repeating the flashing pattern.

"Whoa whoa whoa, please slow down," Lizzie said, "What are you trying to say?"

She tried to pay more attention to the pattern Karr was using. He flashed his lights slowly, then quickly...and then she lost the pattern again. Finally he paused, and then apparently repeated the pattern.

"I'm pretty sure that's not Morse code," Lizzie observed.

As if her voice had pressed an imaginary button, Karr stopped flashing his headlights and turned them off.

"No, wait, I didn't mean to stop!" Lizzie said, "I just don't understand it, that's all."

Karr flashed his headlights once at her, and she could tell that he was a little annoyed.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said, "I don't under-"

Karr flashed his headlights at her again.

"-stand," she finished.

She thought about it for a minute. Karr apparently couldn't communicate with her.

"Alright, let's try this for now," She said, coming up with the only thing she could think of, "Two short flashes mean 'yes', and one long flash for 'no'. Will that work?"

There was no answer. Maybe his hearing was off. But that couldn't be right, he had clearly been able to hear her earlier.

"Well," she said, going back to the first question she had asked. "Do you remember anything that happened to you?"

There was no answer for a few seconds, then Karr began flashing his headlights at her again. To Lizzie's surprise, it was apparently the same pattern he had used earlier.

"Fixing this this is going to be a problem," Lizzie thought out loud.

Karr paused for a few seconds, and then flashed the same pattern again.

That was when Lizzie realized something very important. It was only an idea, and she would need to test it, but it seemed possible and it fit with the amnesia.

"Um," she said, trying to make this next sentence sound as casual as possible, "The purple hippo sat on the apple, but the jewelry box wouldn't fire any catapults."

It was the most ridiculous thing she could think of saying. If Karr didn't acknowledge that, or wasn't confused by it at all, then he was in bigger trouble than she thought.

She watched him carefully. Karr began the pattern again, but he didn't so much as flinch from the absurdity of her sentence.

That was when Lizzie knew for certain the extent of Karr's amnesia. He couldn't even understand what she was saying.