Page 8 of Blood Brother Cursed

Her mind was set, so Astrid placed her bag in her bedroom then grabbed her computer bag and walked back out the door. After locking up, she pulled up the library’s location on herphone. It was risky to be so exposed, but the thought of being trapped in a vehicle for any more time was just too much for her. She passed her vehicle and headed down the sidewalk toward the library.

Her mind was fully engaged in speculation about the area, even going back to what had happened with the movers. This was entirely unhelpful since it just agitated her.

With her thoughts swirling around so many topics, she barely noticed how quickly she was walking until she was standing out in front of her destination. She had managed to walk over a mile and a half in less than half an hour. That time should have been spent thinking about what she was going to research. Instead, it had just managed to further upset her. She tried to quiet her thoughts as her eyes traveled up to the words over the library: Ponderosa Public Library.

It was not the best place to look for the kind of sensitive information she thought she needed, but it was a start at least. The town would have a lot more information about the location than she could find online, so that was something that could have nuggets of information she could use.

The inside smelled a bit musky, but there was a lot more light, thanks to the large windows lining the walls and along half of the ceiling. Astrid’s eyes were drawn to all of the greenery outside, and she figured that was exactly why the place seemed to be made of windows.

Bet this place is creepy when it’s cloudy. With all of that canopy, it’s got to look very oppressive and dark without sunlight streaming in through the window.

She looked over at the desk, where a young man with glasses sat working on a computer. That was obviously where she needed to start.

“Excuse me,” she said, using a lighter tone, hoping she was more disarming than her usual sour demeanor.

The guy looked up, his brown eyes taking her in. “Do you need help?”

“Yes. Do you have newspapers from the last hundred years or so?” Images from movies and shows flashed through her mind. “Please tell me you upgraded past microfiche.”

He gave her a look. “You aren’t from around here.”

She frowned, trying to detect if the guy was a shifter. There was nothing. “How did you know?”

“Besides your slight Southern accent, we upgraded back in the 20th century. Come on.” He got off of a tall stool and took her back to a small room near the back of the library.

Something felt off to her. “Why do you have little conference rooms?”

“There are three community colleges within easy driving distance, and they collaborate. We offer a place for students to do projects.”

“Oh.” She looked around at the place. “What about the guys from the base? Do they come here often?”

“I wouldn’t know. They don’t tend to wear their uniforms in town, so if they come to the library, they look just like everyone else.”

He pulled a chair out. “This is probably your best place to start. We have discs for the older stuff, but you can look at what’s in the cloud. All you need is your… you don’t have a card, do you?”

“No. Do I need one?”

“Yes. We’ve had some kids try to corrupt stuff over the years, so we make sure we can track users. Come here.” He sat down at a different computer. “I can create an account for you, and then you’ll be able to access the older information.”

It took a couple of minutes, but soon enough, Astrid was pouring through a lot of old newspaper articles. Every once in a while, she found something interesting, but they never wentinto depth. While today, that was understandable since a lot of papers copied each other, journalists 50 to 100 years ago had “integrity” and a desire to provide as much information as possible, so she expected them to be a lot more tenacious.

The more she reviewed, the more Astrid began to wonder if that was just one more thing that was built up as better without it actually being true. However, it could also be a sign that information was being intentionally omitted. She needed to find out if it was just sloppy writing or a sign of the reporting being censored. And if it was being censored, she had to find out why.

Pulling out her own laptop, Astrid began to note stories that seemed to be only partially told. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn’t hear the door open. It was only when someone sat down beside her and giving her a fright that the young woman realized she wasn’t alone.

“Imagine running into you here.” The cool blue eyes shone, and her eyes were drawn down to the thin lips that covered some very white teeth.

“Are you stalking me, Phoenix?”

“I’ve encountered you twice in over a week. Is that what you consider stalking?”

She looked away. “I suppose not. But as you pointed out, it’s not exactly likely to encounter you here.”

He sighed and sat back, crossing his right leg over his left. “I’ve spent most of the last month here, including most of the days since I last saw you.” His eyes went to her screen. “Apparently, researching the same stuff that you are.”

She quickly turned the monitor off. “What makes you think that?”

“That’s where I started.” He pulled a strange-looking tablet out of his messenger bag. “I don’t know why it interests you, but I can help fill in some of the blanks.”

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