by BEAGLE BOY
Part 1
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"Noooooooooooo....." came the scream.
"Now what," asked Lash Lad, as he hurried out of his bed. He ran out of his room and bolted down the hall. He stopped in front of Beagle's door. He gently rapped on the door. "Beagle, you okay, buddy?"
"Noooooooooooo....." came the scream again.
"Dammit, security override," he growled.
"Is that Beagle," asked Shady. "What's going on in there?"
"I don't know. He's locked everybody out. Security override isn't responding. And he isn't responding to me."
"Okay. Let's try this. Computer, grant access: Beagle Boy, override authorization Gamma-Gamma-Alpha-6-7-1-3," said Shady. She held her breath. She hated using her override authorization. She knew the value of privacy. But this was an emergency. And with Beagle screaming at the top of his lungs, something HAD to be wrong. Invasion, unauthorized entrance, teleportation, anything.
"Shady," began Lash, "It's not working. Something is wrong. We've GOT to get in there!"
"What's happening," panted Carggaphile. "I heard the yelling at the other end of the wing."
"Uh-oh. This isn't good," offered Newcru, as he ran up on the group.
Suddenly, the door started to slide open. The foursome outside saw something they never would have believed. Sitting on the bed, clutching his sheet, was Beagle. Eyes wild as they had ever seen. He was covered in sweat, and his hair matted down. He was terrified. Lash started to rush in.
"No, not yet," countered Shady.
"There's nobody in there. If somebody was in there, then they teleported out or something, but NOBODY is in there but Beagle!!"
"I know, sweetie," soothed Shady. "But if what I believe has happened, rushing in will cause more problems."
"'Night Terror', Shady," asked Carggaphile.
"I'm afraid so."
"What's a 'night terror'" asked Newcru.
"Who cares," hissed Lash.
"Beagle, are you awake? Are you okay? Come on, buddy. Tell us something," Carggaphile called out.
The four just stood there. What else could they do.
"Where's Piddlin' Pup? Maybe he could do something," said Newcru.
"Go find him. But keep it quiet. Nobody need know what has happened," ordered Shady. With that, Newcru took off to find the one thing that Beagle might relate to. "This just remains with the four of us, is that clear," Shady said, not asking, as she turned back to the others.
"Beagle ... Allen. Please," whispered Lash.
With that, Beagle's eyes started to soften. His breathing slowed.
"I'll lower the temperature in the room," whispered Carggaphile, heading to the thermostat.
Slowly, Shady, Lash, and Carggaphile eased in the room.
"Honey, are you okay," ventured Shady.
"N-n-n-n-n-n-no," came the somewhat shaken reply. "Get out."
"Beagle...," started Carggaphile.
"G-g-ge-ge-ge-get o-o-out," Beagle started, almost sobbing.
"No," stated Lash. "We're not leaving you alone. Not until we know you are all right."
"It was just a stupid nightmare," Beagle pleaded, eyes filling with tears.
"We're here for you, buddy," said Carggaphile, softly. He leaned over to offer a reassuring pat on Beagle's shoulder. As he got close, though, Beagle started to recoil, almost violently. Concern mixed with fear flashed across Carggaphile's face.
It confirmed Shady's fears. If Carggaphile was this worried, then action would have to be taken. But this would have to remain among only the quartet. And Beagle. That would make things more difficult. But this was a special case. And nothing would keep them from the truth. Not this time.
The trio made their way out of Beagle's room. With one last glance, Shady caught a glimpse of just a shell of the friend she knew as Beagle Boy. She heard him whisper "Close door," just as the doors to his room began to slide shut.
As they exited, they saw Newcru coming down the hall, with a very worried expression on his face. "No luck. I guess he's spending the night with someone else," started Newcru. "How'd it go?"
"Let me put it like this," sighed Carggaphile. "If anyone can get back to sleep, then I suggest we do so. As for me, I'm finding a coffee pot. It's 2:00 in the morning, and I think I've had all the sleep I'll get for a while."
"I hope that's not a premonition," muttered Newcru.
"Shady, should somebody..."
"Let's go. If you want some sleep, get some sleep. Otherwise, come get some coffee."
The four of them made it to the kitchen, and began digging through the freezer for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate mix. Within minutes, the aroma of coffee wafted through the kitchen. Followed by hot chocolate. With their hot drinks ready, Shady began.
"I know some of you may feel that this is an invasion of privacy. If that is so, then I truly apologize. But I think it is time we get some background on Beagle. Tonight MIGHT be just a nightmare, but I suspect that it was a night terror. He has all the classic symptoms. And if that is the case, then I fear we need to look in his past to help him out. If anyone objects, speak now."
The only movement was that of cups being lifted and being sipped out of. Not a word was said.
"Okay. Let's do this." With that, the group followed Shady's lead, topped off their cups, and headed to the monitor room.
Shady sat down at the terminal interface, and began tapping on the keyboard. Beagle Boy, aka Allen Campbell. Birthdate 1967, October 13. Occupation: Computer programmer, chef. Hobbies: Computers, comic books, cooking, trivia.
"Nothing out of line there."
Grinning, Newcru said, "Except for the birthdate. Can that be right?"
"Yeah," answered Lash. "He REALLY WAS born on Friday, the 13th."
The terminal continued to provide more information. It gave the dates of his school years, and showed the change of towns between his second and third grade year. Generally good grades, definate fascination with computers and history. Very well behaved. Very polite. Outstanding attitude. Not a bad mark on file. Then the college information started scrolling.
"Hey, look at that. His grades started dropping in college. Wondered what caused that," Carggaphile asked.
"It could be," Shady thought out loud, "that either his high school didn't prepare him for college, or that may be part of what we are looking for."
"HUH," questioned Newcru.
"Some small towns had to make classes so easy to get the students passed, that some of the intelligent kids never had to crack a book, so they never learned how to study. It's not that unusual."
"I do have a little information about his beginning of college. It may shed a little bit of light on the situation." Carggaphile began relating some of the information Beagle/Allen had given him.