I'm back with another chapter. STAY SAFE, PEOPLE! If you live anywhere where it's very likely to get bad, like China, or Italy, or USA, or Iran, then stay safe. WASH YOUR HANDS.

I folded the note up, placed it within my phone case, snapped it back on my phone and raced out of the room. Catherine was downstairs, and none of my friends were in their rooms. I knew I could talk to one person.

I ran upstairs and looked back and forth for a moment, trying to figure out which door Piper had gone into.

I lingered outside one of the doors and decided to follow my gut instinct. I opened the heavy door embedded with crystals and found myself in a giant library that looked very much like the one back in Spy School.

"Ben!" Piper called as soon as I entered the vast library. "Over here."

I walked over to where she sat down with a book open. She patted the small chair next to her, gesturing for me to sit down next to her.

"So," she began slowly, "not hungry?"

I nodded. "I still can't shake off the feeling that she's gone."

"She'll be fine," Piper said, handing me a book. "Here. This has like, the best plot ever. It's about a girl who-" she began, but I cut her off.

"I've seen this book before. I've always wanted to read it, but I've never gotten the chance to." I flipped it open, and for the next hour we read in absolute silence.

As I read, though, I occasionally looked up. "Hey Piper?" I called.

"Mhm?" she replied absently, not looking up from her book.

I stood up and walked past the bookshelves to a smaller area with more shelves, only the books didn't look like novels. "What's that place?"

Piper stood up, placed her book down and caught up to me. "I honestly don't know much about it," she answered. "My dad's office is combined with that section of the library where he does...stuff."

"Oh." Our conversation ended right there, but I made a mental note to survey that area later. It looked like an excellent place for recon.

"Anyways," Piper resumed, opening her book up, "I have to go do my homework."

"Homework?" I repeated.

Piper looked at me like I was crazy. "Yeah, I'm homeschooled."

"That's nice." I opened my book up again, and noticed that the last sentence from one of the pages was missing. It looked like it had been ripped. "Hey, what happened here?"

Piper walked over and examined the book. "I don't know, I think something got ripped out or whatever."

I glanced over at the page. Figuring that it was the least of my worries, I closed the book, placed it aside and stood up as well. "I have to get going too."

She flashed a smile. "See you later."

"Wait!" I called out. "I totally forgot to talk to you. I came to talk, but I got carried away, I guess."

"Go on," she urged.

I reconsidered showing her the note. I didn't know if I could completely trust her, so I shrugged it off. "Never mind. I think I forgot."

She didn't even suspect me for a second. "Let me know when you remember what you forgot."

I smiled, and she walked away. Before closing the door, she nodded subtly at me. "Feel free to come in here whenever you want to, Ben." With that, she hurried away as fast as her heels could carry her.

I turned my attention to the farther part of the library. I sneaked past the door and walked into the area, keeping my guard up. I ducked behind a bookshelf just in time to see the king on a phone call.

"Yes, I'll get to it tomorrow," he said, then waited for a moment. "Okay. He's in the room. Locked safely. I'll get to it."

The king walked out of the office, leaving me alone to stare at the big books. Obviously, it was a cover. I walked around, trying to find something of interest. I figured that if SPYDER had targeted the king, then they definitely must've come in the office.

"Alright, then," came an unfamiliar voice. I ran back to the other side of the library and heaved a sigh of relief.

I couldn't see or hear anyone else, so I walked back to my room. As I ascended the staircase, Mike caught up to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and all I could do was nod. He threw his arm over my shoulders and pulled me into his room.

"Mike, can I disclose something to you?" I asked. He looked at me, skeptical, and then nodded. I pulled out Erica's half-written note and showed it to him.

"Wow," he breathed after reading it over. "You mean...she's..."

"Yes," I said, relieved that he'd understood. "She's still close, wherever SPYDER's taken her."

Mike nodded. "This will be our little secret, alright?"

"Thank you, Mike," I said. "I might do some reconnaissance. Will you join me?"

"Sure," he beamed. "I do love a good mission."

I smiled. "Awesome. Now all I have to do is wait for tonight."

The next few hours passed by, and the evening neared as the rain poured down harder. I stayed in my room, reading, scrolling through texts and playing five rounds of truth or dare with everyone.

"You coming for dinner?" Zoe asked as everyone filed out of Cynthia's room.

I shrugged. "Sure."

Dinner was awkwardly silent, with the king and Piper not present. Everyone picked at their meals in silence, and the queen got up and walked away in the first ten minutes.

"Recon tonight?" Mike whispered to me. I nodded, confirming it, and Catherine shot me a suspicious glance. I mouthed recon and she subtly nodded.

"Well, then, everyone, the guards are still searching for Erica. She's still close. Somewhere." Catherine's voice was cold and distant, and her eyes kept darting back and forth. "Keep your guard up at all times."

Everyone mumbled yes and nodded as we filed out of the dining area. I led Mike to the library and we silently slipped away from everyone else.

"What now?" he asked. "What's all this?"

"This is a secret office or whatever that the king uses," I replied. "I suppose that SPYDER's gotten to this place as well."

Mike stopped in his tracks and turned to me. "You're suspecting the king?"

I took a deep breath and motioned for him to sit on a chair. "I haven't told anyone, but yes."

"What?!" Mike was so loud for a moment that I thought someone had overheard us. Thankfully, no one did, but I kept my voice down, just in case someone did.

"Look, Erica's gone, and there's no sign of her at all, not even a hint or a clue. Second of all, she slipped me a note from inside, meaning that she's somewhere in here. Lastly, in case you haven't noticed, SPYDER's not here."

"Not here?" he repeated.

"There's no evidence of SPYDER anywhere," I explained. "Or at least, we haven't seen it with our eyes. We've only heard it with our ears."

"No," Mike said. "That's not enough. Remember the chloroform rag? The skittle? There's plenty of evidence that SPYDER exists."

I started to doubt myself. "Maybe you're right."

"That's 'cause I am," he replied, nudging me. "No recon. Let's go."

Erica would have agreed with me, but Mike didn't. I missed Erica even more as I trudged towards my room.

Catherine was out in the hallway, talking to the queen. As soon as they saw me, the queen mumbled goodnight and walked away, leaving Catherine alone. She turned towards me.

"So, how'd the recon go?" she asked. "Done so fast?"

"No, we didn't do any," I replied, not wanting to tell her what was going on in my head. "We... didn't have any suspicions."

She somehow sensed something wasn't right, and she stared long and hard at me. "You're telling the partial truth."

I instantly hated the fact that she was like a second mother to me. "Uh..."

She smiled. "I know what happened, Benjamin. It's my responsibility to make sure I know what you're doing. If you hadn't realized earlier, I slipped a bug into your hoodie."

I instantly liked her again for being so protective.

"Get some rest. Goodnight," she said, disappearing into her room. Before closing the door, she smiled sympathetically. "We'll find her. She's Erica. She knows what she's doing."

I nodded, forced myself to believe it, and walked into my own room, closing the door behind me.

"Erica, where are you?" I found myself mumbling. "Come back to me."

Then I fell fast asleep.

This is kinda sad...and I'm dragging the good stuff. I promise, it'll be on your way. I have 45 votes, and I know we can do more. I'll do a double update, maybe even triple if we reach 100+ votes!

Have a great day!