CHAPTER TEN
Things had meaning.
The only problem was figuring out what that meaning was.
He was starting to understand the safe thing. When it moved itself sometimes in certain ways, it meant certain things like "move this way" or "pay attention".
Sometimes when it moved in other ways, though, it didn't mean anything. Movement of the two appendages at the bottom obviously didn't mean "go this way" when there wasn't enough space for him to move. For example, the safe thing would move back and forth when they were in the small place and the fourth wall was in place, but clearly he couldn't go anywhere when he was in there.
On the other hand, movement of the two appendages at the top meant a lot of different things that he was still trying to figure out.
Sometimes the safe thing would reach out with one of its upper appendages and touch him. He wished he knew why it did that, but after the first few times it got to be very comforting. It was really strange though when the safe thing tried pulling on his side thing by his mirror-he didn't even know it was there until the safe thing did that. It was like this little flap thing that went up when the first part of the thing's appendage grabbed it.
It was almost as if the safe thing expected something to happen when it did that. The safe thing was funny sometimes.
One thing he really liked about the safe thing, though, was that it liked to make noise. It made noise when it moved, and it made noises when it looked at him. The thought crossed his processor that it was trying to communicate, but whenever he tried communicating back it didn't understand him. That was okay though. He wasn't entirely sure about what would happen if he could communicate with it.
For now, he was content with noticing all the strange things around him and cataloging them for later.
If he could communicate with the safe thing, though, maybe he could warn it about the unsafe thing. The unsafe thing was nearby. He first heard it when the safe thing was making noises into a small thing, and then he saw it when the safe thing was playing with him outside. He wanted to stay as far away from the unsafe thing as possible. He wasn't sure what it could do, but it had to be something bad, very very bad, since he knew to stay away from it.
Maybe the safe thing already knew about the unsafe thing. The safe thing had brought him back to the small room, which seemed to be a safe place. Now the safe thing was moving back and forth, waving its upper appendages and making lots of noises-the kind that might be an attempt to communicate.
Good. If anyone could solve the problem about what to do with the unsafe thing, it was the safe thing.
"I can't believe this," Lizzy said, pacing the garage floor for the millionth time, "How am I going to get out of this mess?"
She turned towards Karr. "Any ideas?" she asked.
No answer. Just the scanner again.
"I'm really on my own here, aren't I?" Lizzie said, "What do we do, just wait in here forever?"
No answer again.
"Uggh," Lizzie groaned, sitting down on the hard cement garage floor, "Alright. Think. I've got to get in touch with Dad and Kitt. That's the only way I'm going to get out of this mess. But I'm not going to use my cell phone, because that's trackable. Even though they are close by, it's just too easy for the bad guys to get to us first. And we know they can, 'cause they called me on my phone before."
She looked at Karr.
"You know," she said, "I learned they were here from the campus radio. If I can call the radio with the house phone and get a message across...no, it'd have to be in some kind of code for Kitt to unravel, otherwise it's just as bad as if I called using my cell. How am I going to do that?"
She paced the floor a few more times, then walked back to Karr and sat down in front of his hood again.
"Are they still following us?" Michael Knight asked, turning to look behind them.
"No. My scanners show that we've lost them." Kitt said.
"I still can't believe that we fit through those trees," Michael groaned, "Now can we get out of these woods and back to civilization?"
"Sure thing, Michael. Let me just calculate what path to-Michael, wait!"
Kitt stopped so suddenly that he almost had to apply the airbag for Michael's sake.
"What is it, Kitt?" Michael asked.
"Tracks," Kitt said, sounding very excited, "Karr's tracks. Here in the woods."
"You're joking." Michael said.
"I assure you Michael, I'm very serious."
"What would Karr be doing here? And in the middle of the woods?"
"I'm not certain, Michael," Kitt said, "But I do know one thing: they go in this direction."
"Kitt, you can't be serious." Michael said, even as Kitt began following the tracks.
"Michael, trust me. I'd know Karr's tire tracks anywhere. They're not exactly common."
"Kitt, are you sure this isn't a trap?" Michael asked, "I mean, the last we heard from Karr was that They were onto him. What if they...I don't know, took him and then planted these tire tracks as part of a trap for us?"
"When would they have had the time?" Kitt asked, "And how would they know we'd go into the forest?"
"You got me there," Michael said, leaning back in his seat, "Alright. We're following them now, but any idea where they end up?"
"Based on the current direction, here." Kitt said, pulling up a map of the campus. "These three streets in particular. But from any one of those streets, they could go to any other part of the campus."
"So let's think," Michael said, "If Karr is here, and he was cutting through the woods where would he go?"
"To Lizzie, obviously." Kitt said, "But the dorms are in the other directions."
"So," Michael said, "What would Lizzie be doing out near that area?"
"Well," Kitt said, "That's near the park where she was accused of vandalism."
"Hang on a sec," Michael Knight said, "Kitt, answer me this. That giant hole in the building-the one we passed by earlier-could that have been caused by Karr?"
"It is possible," Kitt answered, "But, why would he do that?"
"Why would he be taking a short cut through the woods?" Michael countered.
"Do you think that-hold on. Michael, listen to this."
The radio turned on, filling the vehicle.
"...another person who claimed to spot the vehicle of the missing girl. She described it, and I quote, 'as black as my kitten'. But what really made this call memorable was the location. The caller said she spotted it 'deep in the woods last night, by the mahogany tree'. Which, by the way, don't grow naturally in these parts. So don't get your hopes up, folks. It's most likely just another false alarm."
"So someone saw Karr here in the woods last night," Michael mused.
"Not just someone," Kitt said, still following the trail, "Lizzie."
"What makes you think that?"
"The caller was a she, and she saw him in the woods at dead of night. But Michael, he's black. He blends into the night. There's almost no way anyone could have spotted him."
"You're right," Michael said, "And come to think of it, she made sure to mention that he was as black as her KITTen."
"That's right, Michael." Kitt stated, "But what I don't get is that part about the tree. It was very specific."
"Mahogany," Michael said, "Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't Mahogany the name of the woman she housesat for not too long ago?"
"It was!" Kitt said, "I'm pulling up her address now."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking they reached the end of both the forest and the tracks, and found themselves at the edge of a suburban street.
"I have the address, Michael." Kitt said, "Mrs. Mahogany's house is not too far from here. "
"Then what are we waiting for?" Michael asked, "That has to be where she is. And it sounds like she might have Karr with her. Let's go, before They start following us again."
"Already on it, Michael." Kitt said, speeding down the road.
