Wolf's Solution

Dan froze and stared in silence as he listened, straining for anything that might accompany the sudden change. Silence.

There was a book.

A single book lying on the floor in the middle of the hall. Anywhere else he could shrug it off as a simple accident but not here. Not in the Tallowson Archive. No one would leave a book lying around like that. Not even the laziest or most distracted of people.

He approached it cautiously, his disruption gun in hand. It wasn't a large book, just a thin paperback horror novel with what appeared to be a banshee on the cover.

This was out of the ordinary but there was no sign of anything else happening. No movement, no sound, and that was not at all a reason to relax. There were no accidents here - at best there was something that had escaped containment. He'd have to check who had been researching what in the last couple of hours.

The library door was cracked open nearby - also unusual. He frowned as he looked closer and noticed another paperback wedged under the hinge to keep it from closing completely.

He switched channels and keyed the handset. "Note, Library book in the hall, another propping the door open. Something's not right but no further sign of trouble. So far."

The recorder in his office would make sure if anything did go seriously wrong, at least they'd know where to look. He could always trigger an alarm that would have every researcher on duty in the hall as backup. Most of them would know exactly what he was dealing with if he didn't sort it out first.

Carefully he retrieved the book from the door and stepped in to look around what was visible of the library from this door. The room was absurdly long and he wasn't entirely sure it was legal. It just seemed like it had to be going under other properties but it wasn't his place to say anything. If he remembered right, he was contractually obligated to mind his own business on matters like this.

He set the two books on the return cart inside the door and looked around slowly. Silence. Nothing-

He spun to face the slap of a book hitting the floor. As he watched another book toppled from a shelf near him. And another. "Who's there?"'

Another book fell as he watched. He stepped closer and began to feel a presence. Not good. Something was loose... But it wasn't very strong and didn't seem malevolent. Strange.

"Can you spin a book?" He asked, waiting until one began to turn in a slow circle on the floor. "Clockwise for yes, counterclockwise for no. Do you need help?"

The book began turning clockwise a little faster.

"Alright. I'll make some calls and be back soon." He promised, leaving the books where they were as evidence. If it was dangerous, the next few seconds would let him know. He turned and walked back into the hallway, relieved to not be attacked as he did.

Something benevolent getting stuck wouldn't be out of the question with as many items as they had and there were a few new arrivals. Still, this was unusual on a few levels. He checked in with the three researchers on duty but none had any idea what might cause a disturbance in the library. That was irrelevant to their current items but notes were made just in case.

On returning to his office he sighed and typed a quick email.

Mrs. Atkins,

Please come see me at your earliest convenience. We have a non-lethal situation. Apparently there is a seemingly friendly ghost haunting the library. It is not likely to be related to anything currently being researched. Contact must be established as it has requested help.

He sent it off and leaned back in his seat with a sigh. There were fairly limited reasons for a ghost to suddenly appear and not a single one was good. There hadn't been a death in the staff for a few years so there shouldn't be need for anything of the sort.

He mulled over possibilities and the easiest method of communication when there was a knock at the door. It opened to reveal Mrs. Atkin's stern face and Mr. Tallowson close behind her looking much more cheerful.

"I didn't mean to drag you into this as well, Mr. Tallowson!" Dan stood to shake their hands. "I don't think this is anything dangerous."

"We haven't had anything so interesting happen in a while!" Mr. Tallowson laughed, waving dismissively. "I could hardly focus on paperwork while wondering how this happened. What drew your attention to the problem? I didn't know you went through the library on your rounds."

"I don't." He assured them. "It propped open the door and threw a book into the hallway. It's hard to overlook something like that. I returned the books and it began knocking more off the shelf. I could barely feel its presence at close range and every book it interacted with was pretty small so I doubt it's got the strength to be a danger to anyone." He explained.

"Well, let's grab a spirit board and go say hello!" The man said cheerfully. "If it can move a book, it can easily move a planchette."

"Yes, sir." Dan nodded. "I'll meet you by the fiction door. I left the fallen books, it shouldn't be hard to locate the ghost again."

"Thank you, Mr. Vega." Mrs. Atkins gave a curt nod and left the room with Mr. Tallowson trailing cheerfully behind.

Dan grinned as he dug up the old board kept on hand for similar situations. This was the first time he'd heard of it being used outside a vault or research room, though. He'd heard the old man was once an excellent field agent but it hadn't even occurred to him to notify one of the Tallowsons for something as minor as this. Two of his three children were involved in the Archive, the other craved a 'normal' life and had cut all easily visible ties. He had gone so far as to change his name to prevent anyone from making the connection easily.

Dan had heard the stories and there was a scrap of paper with the new name hidden in his desk on the off chance the guy showed up one day. In the computer system there were only two children listed as living just in case the Archive's rivals found a way to hack their system. The missing child was the only one he could think of who might be drawn back here after death and he could only hope that wasn't what was going on.

He returned to the library to find the two sitting at a table with the fallen books stacked neatly on one corner. The pages of the top book shifted slightly in a nonexistent breeze. Once the board was set up he sat across from Mr. Tallowson while Mrs. Atkins watched with a pad of paper, ready to write everything down.

"Who are you?" Mr. Tallowson asked once they were both touching the planchette. It began to move immediately.

H I P I C H D A N O

After a moment of thought Dan felt ice shoot up his spine. High pitch, Danno.

"What is it? Do you know what that means?" Mr. Tallowson asked.

"It's Sylvia." He said, eyes wide as the planchette jerked up to the YES.

"What? Ms. Lewis? She's in the field." Mr. Tallowson pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "...Unless something went wrong."

NO

Dan was quiet as he considered what this could possibly mean as he thought back over the last few months since Sylvia had been 'promoted' to field agent. "No... it's not her. Let me check my notes and I can give you the exact date it was no longer Sylvia, though. I filed a report on it, actually."

"What?! You... oh." Mr. Tallowson sighed. "Yes... I remember you reporting she began to act different when the Eye finished attuning to her."

"I knew she wouldn't clean up that fast." Dan huffed a sigh. "Sorry, Sylvia. I should have trusted my gut the day you called me Mr. Vega."

YES

"What happened, then? Who is it pretending to be her?" Mr. Tallowson demanded, the increasing concern was almost overwhelming the guilty expression on the man's face.

The planchette ripped away from them and flung itself down an aisle. It then moved as if being kicked, tumbling away. Dan was on his feet and chasing after it quickly. When it stopped and turned to point at a shelf he examined the books until he noticed one jittering as if trying to fall from the shelf but it was significantly larger than the paperbacks. He noted that it was one of the volumes that listed past employees and their accomplishments. Once he'd pulled it off the shelf and opened the cover it turned to the table of contents and a moment later the pages were flipping wildly.

Mr. Tallowson stood beside Dan and watched until it stopped and one corner flipped down to dog ear the culprit.

"Glen Sherwin?" Mr. Tallowson looked as if he'd been struck. "The last seeker? Surely he wouldn't...."

The page shook and Dan gave him an apologetic look. "She seems pretty certain."

"Very well. Give me a little time, Ms. Lewis." Mr. Tallowson sighed. "I need to give this some thought and talk to Ms... well... Glen... and figure out how to handle this situation. Mr. Vega, do what you can to make Ms. Lewis more comfortable for the time being. I imagine a radio at the main desk would be appreciated. It's terribly quiet in here. She may be a ghost but there's no need to torture her with silence and isolation."

"Yes, sir. I'll leave the board in here even though her spelling sucks." Dan grinned as he felt a light pressure against his arm. He was pretty sure she just took a swing at him.

"Good idea. Hopefully we can find something that will work better later." Mr. Tallowson nodded and Mrs. Atkins followed him out. Dan returned to the spirit board and set the planchette back on it. It immediately began moving without him touching it.

F U

"Gotta say, I've missed you." He chuckled and dropped into the chair with a sigh. "I'm sorry I didn't investigate more when 'you' turned weird. Everyone just said when you lost your sight completely that the gravity just hit you and you went full professional. It didn't seem right but I didn't have enough evidence to justify looking into it."

W U T N O W

"Now we wait. And get you a dictionary." He smirked as the planchette flew off the board and bounced painlessly off his chest. "For now, I'll come visit you when I've got time and we wait for them to figure out a better way to communicate. Other than that, I have no idea. I'm just glad you didn't actually get boring."

N E V E R

"I'll bring a CD player and grab some of your music. I doubt the other you would notice."

YES

"We'll figure something out, though. Try not to worry." He said and stood. "I better steal your music back for you before there's a direct confrontation because I've got some choice words that should probably wait until after Mr. Tallowson has a chance to say his."

K I K 4 M E

"I may get fired if I kick anyone's ass but I'm pretty sure I can get away with the verbal equivalent. I'll be back soon."

T H X D A N O

He smiled and went to make arrangements, though the smile didn't last long after stepping out into the hall. He couldn't figure out how the hell this would even happen. The last Seeker died in 1964 - over 40 years ago! Surely if he'd been a ghost all that time he'd have been noticed! Why now? Why her?

Dan let himself into the Seeker's apartment and looked over the shelf of CDs next to the sound system. It was pretty obvious which were actually listened to as they were stacked beside it. Some were piled on a high shelf so he grabbed those and went to requisition a stereo that could hold multiple discs so it'd be easier for her to switch from one to another. He added a note on the form to consult Mr. Tallowson if there were any objections to such a frivolous seeming purchase. They wouldn't be letting her suffer alone in silence any longer than necessary.