The Lost Treasure Map Series (55 page)

For a moment they had all silently watched
the other him at the table as he had finished his meal and Bryson
had started going through the problems that might surface and that
they might keep identifying it as being him and vice versa, and he
had wondered what would happen if it started claiming it was and
how he could explain to people who had not witnessed what had
happened what was happening? They could barely explain anything
there to the police already and they insisted in knowing everything
there!

He wondered what it was classed as? If it
had not been for the strange appearance it had made in his room he
could have taken it for something else! He might have thought the
disturbance had done something with time and allowed an earlier or
older version of him to appear!

Bryson could not realize who was more amazed
him or the others, and he dared not let the other him out of his
sight in case it did something that he would get the blame for!

“
Just tell me
–
what the hell you
are?
”
Mitchell demanded once, finally trying answer at least one of
his queries.

“
I do not know!
”
it announced, clearly not
knowing.

“
I never knew you had a
brother?
”
Mitchell continued, amused, trying to think of what he was
missing. He clearly thought there was a hidden joke!

“
I don
’
t remember
anything!
”
it continued, not knowing what to do now.

“
What? You lost your memory? Where did
that happen?
”

“
On my way back
here!
”

“
Back here!
”
Mitchell replied, and laughed
loudly.
“
What? You are claiming you were here and left
...?
”

“
Of course! I awakened
–
up
there!
”

The stranger pointed over in the
direction that that had come from, from Bryson
’
s room, and Bryson tried to
detect if it was now following an act to cover up its
identity.

Mitchell heard a noise from his
communication device and picked it up and started talking to
someone.

Bryson wondered what would happen if the
thing made copies of all of them? They would be breaking the law if
they tried to do anything to them! What could they do with them?
Could they prove that they were aliens?

Bryson decided to keep the thing near him!
But not to near! He was not going to sleep with it near him! Yet
the thing could have easily have already killed him in his
opinion!

“
That
’
s strange!
”
Mitchell announced, leaving the
room.
“
A
lot of the stuff on the people here has been erased from our
files!
”

Bryson immediately wondered why
Mitchell had files on the people there, and as if they knew about
it. It was strange! They had brought Mitchell there to find the
treasure and basically help them with anything dangerous
–
and he was now
running things further than anyone else
–
and seemed to have connections in
the police as well as in the military, where he seemed to be still
a major figure for some reason, which he had claimed he had no
longer anything to do with
–
and all the men working for him had treated
him as being far more than ex-military, and some had even given him
a high up military title and salute.

Bryson watched
Merton and Mortimer follow him out and leave him alone with the
thing, facing him across the table.

“
So what
’
s your name then?
”
Bryson finally asked
jokingly, realizing that he had to talk to it and he had been in
far worse situations there already
–
like going through the vortex
...

“
Bryson!
”
it joked back, making him gag for a
moment.

“
We could be twins?
” he replied, not just joking but
seriously trying to solve the problem of what to do with it, for
the moment.

“
Alright!
”

“
My name is Bryson so
you
’
ll have
to choose another ...
”

“
Call me Thomas!
”
it replied, making him gasp
again, knowing it had deliberately used his first name knowing that
it had not been told to it, and he thanked it for letting him know
it.

“
Choose another!
”

“
Call me William
then!
”

“
Alright!
”

“
Maybe we can do each other a favor
... We could have information that we both want?
”

“
You are perfectly
correct!
”

Bryson observed how human and identical it
really was and tried to establish the differences in it to
establish what it was really like and he saw differences in the way
it used its features.

Chapter 18

The Thing from the
Tunnel

Bryson wondered if the thing was
automatically carrying out a programming given to it by what was in
the second tunnel, even though it was capable of being human and
doing human things it was like it was carrying out a plan, which he
never fully knew what and left it as it wanting to gather
information.

It seemed to like finding information on
what it could and checking for anything of interest, abnormalities,
and he watched it examining things. And even though he could not
get if it was hiding anything he avoided questioning it.

He was starting to think Mitchell was part
of scheme to carry out some very illegal activity there. Yet what
could he be up to there? Unless he intended to take the treasure
away and disappear with it?

He even considered there was something
of else of value there and if he intended in taking it back without
anyone knowing of it! But what was it? Perhaps he had heard of
something being there from accounts of there
–
which had been hidden away
from them? Pendleton and his two treasure hunters had known things
that had not been told to them! Yet that was not an illegal
activity and it was even up to him whether he told anyone of
it
–
and he
was sure that it was something else!

Though he would be bothered if he did
take the treasure without him knowing about
–
even if he never got any of
it
–
as he
wanted to find it and see what it was more than
anything!

Many items there were being kept and sent
out by many of them that thought that they had great hidden value,
but he knew that they never as he had them checked out by his
friend and Bryson had not found anything worth taking except for
glamorous and curious ornaments to remember the place.

They started searching the rest of the top
floor and the area the police had warned them not to go in, and
searched everything while checking nothing deadly was there.

He started noticing Mitchell had more
interest in the William Randall tomb and insisted in having it
removed from there
–
by having the windows of the room removed
and having it lowered down to the ground on ropes, where it was
taken away by a helicopter. All the people he had contacted about
it valued it as of being of little value and he wondered if he was
going to have it checked for something, and it having something
hidden in it.

He was sure that he would even discard it
before they left there, especially if they found something of real
value. Since he had been at the last castle he had gotten to know
many explorers, who had made explorations all around the world, as
it interested him greatly, especially after him finding the last
treasure, and he had started to believe there were treasures about
and he was amazed that a lot of treasure hunters and people
interested in exploration had met with him after hearing of his
discover of the treasure, and they had him recollect and give his
account of what had happened.

Mitchell was an explorer and had heard of
his accounts and had been told many things about him by the
scientists.

Bryson was unsure how far they would go
there and how it would end, and wondered if they would keep going
searching there for months and wondered how long he would stay
there until he had enough of it and was positive that there was
nothing there, and if they could solve the disturbances there.

He knew how valuable the place was though
and would try to get what he wanted somewhere before he left.

There had to be something of value there and
they were all keen to find what was hidden away there enough for
something to happen, and he briefly wondered if what existed could
be let loose on the world? Nobody knew what was holding it there or
what it really was!

Bryson searched the rooms with William and
watched him search and how he did it. Yet he still could not grasp
some major thing about him, and never really knowing what he was
doing or looking for being that thing, but he still could not
believe it actually was it. It surely was created by it, separate
from it, to carry out work.

If it was seriously dangerous, and it
started doing things against them, they would have to do things
legally against it
–
because as far as everyone there was now
concerned it was human
–
and he also thought it was human now and
that they could end up having serious problems.

What if it really was different and an alien
and could breed? Could such creatures start to take over the
Earth?

While they were searching a room Mitchell
had appeared at the door, and started searching objects there, like
he was checking if they were missing anything.

“
Do think there is anything
here?
”
Mitchell asked it, trying to get his views about
it.

It just laughed like Bryson, over some
hidden joke, either about it or about him, or something that they
had not grasped.

“
I have checked almost everything
here,
”
Bryson replied.
“
Nothing here is anything of value! What do
you think William? Could there be anything of value about
here?
”

It looked over at him, still slightly
amused, with its amused expression, and replied,
“
Out here! I
don
’
t think
so!
”

His reactions were little! If he was what he
claimed why did he not act more like him? Yet why was he not like a
twin and even doing things differently? It once had him searching
his memories of his relatives that had been like him!

Chapter 19

The Killer

Bryson stood at a room window and watched the
snow come down heavily and he knew that it was the start of another
blizzard hitting region, and watched it cover the wood in front of
the castle.

Somewhere in the lower castle he heard a
heavy thud that sounded like an explosion of something and he felt
its shudder go through the castle stone.

As he started to wonder what had caused it a
strange black figure, covered all over in black clothing, rushed
out the castle at a speed he thought was staggering, and he
wondered if he was an eminent sprinter.

Then he watched the figure enter the
wood faster than he thought possible and wondered what he was
missing, and stood more confused when another figure appeared below
and started blasting rounds of bullets at him in the wood with one
definitely hitting him
–
especially going by the confidence of the
policeman and the way he stopped and his various
reactions.

Bryson left and put on a thicker jacket and
rushed down to the lounge and to the front door, where he saw a
group of policemen who recognized him immediately as they were the
same police that he had followed into the tunnel and out into the
wood after the killer.

One of them turned and even gasped when he
saw him, and Bryson was sure something was going to happen there as
they were getting ready to do something.

They rushed out into the wood and invited
Bryson to follow them and Bryson followed them, checking that it
was not going to turn dark, but he was sure that they had at least
an hour before it did turn dark.

He immediately started showing his presence
and went up to the front of the group to question the policeman
that recognized him, that he remembered talking with when they had
chased the killer into the tunnel.

While they scrambled through the snow he
heard two policemen in front of them giving panic-stricken replies
and he wondered why?

They clearly believed that they were chasing
the killer out into the wood, and they were glad to see Bryson
there again and knew that he knew the ground more than them.