The Lost Treasure Map Series (76 page)

He gave Bryson the impression that they
might be going to do something or come to a conclusion!

Mortimer also gave him the impression that
things were different there and they were not fully themselves!
They had not been fully prepared for all the occurrences and trip,
and had little power over their own fate, and had little
information on the overall future and what was behind
everything.

Bryson realized the implications of things
and that they would have to check what was there and things of
great danger!

Mortimer
quickly told the other scientists: “
Investigate all
the walls, floor and roof!
”

Bryson then
watched him in amusement working out what an electrical plug was
doing there, and the only one that they had seen there.

In the darkness at the end of the corridor
two figures came rushing towards them from the central stair
region, and he finally recognized the figures as two of the
archeologists, who were on guard there, and they rushed up to
Mortimer and whispered things in his ear.

Mortimer
’s
face turned pale, and Bryson saw
that he had turned desperate to do something and he rushed away
with the two men, to where the men had been at the
stairs.

“
What are they up
to?
”
Merton
gasped, staring, bewildered, and Bryson knew something bad had
happened.

“
This is a hell of a
place!
” Bryson mumbled,
seeing an awkward situation arising.

Bryson realized that he really felt like
going back to bed. It had been a long previous day and this day
could even be longer and more deadly, and he watched Mortimer rush
to the stairs, and he wondered what he was missing there. Even
though he felt like rushing back into bed!

Some of the others that had come out of
their rooms to see what was happening there, and looked tired like
him.

He watched them arrive at the stairs and
realized that he would have to get a conclusion on what was
happening there, but he might have to stay there for a long time
and he realized that he had better follow them to get it over
with.

Merton shrugged and followed him, and they
eventually started rushing over to them.

In the sounds behind him from the
disturbance he heard a rhythmical tapping, which increased in
volume, making him slow to listen and he realized that it was
footsteps rushing towards him from behind, and from behind him two
more of the archeologists came running along, while they were
fixing gun holsters around their waists.

Bryson saw Mortimer going up the stairs with
the others. The situation looked bad! If something never happened
there it would be surprising! All the dangers and occurrences had
been so deadly so far and it was incredible nobody had been
killed!

Bryson and Merton rushed to them and swiftly
crept up the stairs to the next floor, where they heard them.

At the next floor he watched their figures
creep around, going from room to room looking for something,
occasionally giving a significant gasp, which most of them had
given since they had arrived at the island!

Bryson now felt wide awake, but tired and
avoided staggering.

“
I saw the figure of someone here with
a weapon!
”
one of the archeologists muttered over to them, moving along
to them.

How had he seen anyone there he wondered? He
felt like questioning him further but left it.

When they went to a room where
Mortimer was he heard someone gasp loudly, grasping
Bryson
’
s
attention as he knew that they had definitely found something, and
they rushed there.

When they reached the region he moved his
head to search in every direction and to where he saw strange rooms
with haunting dark shapes, and they arrived at a room where
Mortimer was kneeling in the dark, next to the body of one of the
scientists.

Chapter 8

The First Death

A few hours
later Bryson went back to bed and immediately entered a surreal
dream, with him mildly viewing it, floating freely from all the
problems of the outer world.

Shifting
things with no form floated wildly by in a deep void everywhere,
with fascinating sounds like whispering thoughts from out in
invisible zones, which taunted him.

Energy of the
universe blasted and blazed, which was normally invisible in the
immense galaxy, and he saw mist formations throughout it of gases
and other formations and he realized that he was seeing it all as
it really was, which seemed powerful and intelligent, which never
really made sense when thought about it, but it did as a
fantasy.

Golden places
appeared around the strange energy lights that twinkled brightly
through thick areas of the energy mist and a bright light appeared
deep in the mist, and he realized the depth of the galaxy and that
he was further off from it than he thought. It was tremendous and
like looking into the deepest depths of space.

He felt the
presence of things mysterious and alive that were vast, which
existed all around him and which he could not account for, and
again he looked out at it all and wondered what it all was, and
studied it, and determinedly tried to grasp it.

Suddenly he
was awakened by a loud knock at his door and he rolled sideways and
checked the time and automatically listened to behind the door, and
heard the silent voice of Mortimer asking him where he was, and he
shouted telling him he was dressing.

Even though it
was so modern looking and like a future hotel he and the others
still thought of it as being shrouded with vines and other
vegetation with bright stars glowing everywhere above it, and in
the middle of the jungle.

He finished
putting on his clothes and yanked open the door and saw Merton and
Mitchell, who both studied him.

“
You
told us to contact you if anything happened!” Merton stated,
excitedly. “Well, something has! You’d better get over to our new
meeting room if you do not want to miss the action!”

“
What
action?” he answered, shifting out of the door and studying the
corridor, watching some of the scientists up ahead, who were
checking an area of the corridor.

“
We just
found a faint shoeprint of the killer at another door further along
from the crime scene!”

“
Is that
everything ...?” Bryson asked firmly. “What are your
theories?”

“
We’ll
have to question everyone on what they were doing and where they
were located! The scientist was killed while alone and exploring
the rooms up there, and I think he might have discovered something
...”

“
He
shouldn’t have been there on his own!”

“
Exactly!”

“
What is
the shoeprint like ...?”

“
We are
having a discussion on it in the meeting room and wanted you
there!”

“
But
this means a killer is amongst us now?”

Both Merton
and Mitchell nodded in agreement!

Chapter 9

The Meeting

They all silently sat in the large
room, which was bigger than a normal large house lounge, where
everything seemed to have massive proportions to other rooms, which
grasped Bryson
’
s imagination.

They all sat still in various large seating
objects at various angles, found there and in the surrounding
rooms.

Parker resumed pacing across their path,
leaving a faint trail over the solid floor there. With his
expression barely altering and slightly showing that there was
trouble ahead, and some of the time he was in deep thought not
quite mentally there, and Bryson noticed many of the others,
especially the scientists, also reacted in similar ways and clearly
thought it was against the scientists!

Bryson wondered if any of them had really
been confronted with such a crime before, and why?

In fact, after a careful examination of all
the people there he realized that he and the two psychic
researchers must have the most experience, especially from the
murders at the last two castles! And he realized why they had
really wanted him there and Merton had taken Mortimer up to get
him, and he then realized that he could have a lot of problems
ahead!

They were not experienced enough and never
had the right means to conduct a proper investigation, and the last
time it was the police that had been doing things and they had
helped.

He was sure that Parker and Mortimer had
some facts about the killing that they were not revealing, and he
noticed that they had an agreement together, and he tried to think
what they would not say and what they would do! Yet there was too
little to go on at the moment and he left it for later!

There were hidden facts to it and he would
wait until they surfaced, and he stopped troubling himself!

The others were mainly discussing the death
but knew little, going by what they came out with. They were
waiting for something to occur and come to some conclusion. Perhaps
even waiting for an argument to break out! Then perhaps they might
get some information to enlighten them! But he knew they knew it
would be little!

Bryson gave occasional shudders from still
being tired.

Merton and Mortimer sat at his sides,
silenced by the whole event, glimpsing Parker as if they were
waiting for something and did not want to say anything.

Bryson turned and coughed into a
handkerchief.

“
I don
’t
understand,
”
Merton argued,
“
why someone would
want to kill him? What was he doing up there on his own
...?
”

“
You could be right!
”
Parker replied.
“
Why did he want
to be up there on his own? We have questioned the scientists that
knew him and had last seen him and they never heard him say
anything!
”

“
How did
he die?” Bryson asked curiously.

“
He was choked, as we thought when we
found the body! I could imagine him easily as a lunatic
...
”

Bryson tried to examine everyone there for
reactions, but never saw anyone react. It surprised him one of them
kept trying to use his pocket phone to get to the airplane, and try
and get information out about what had happened, as though he had
forgotten where he was and what had been happening.

“
It
’
s going to be really tricky explaining the
place and this situation if we get away from this
island?
” one of the
other scientists announced from beside him.

“
Anyway!” Parker announced. “We wanted to question
you!
Did anyone see anyone leave their room or go
towards the stairs?
”

He watched them silently waiting for a reply
and nobody moved in the room, and they all started nodding that
they never one by one.

Bryson knew the person must have been
missing when it took place and he wondered if the killer had made a
mistake there, and Bryson heard from them that they had checked up
on them and that there had been at least half of them that had not
come in contact with anyone when it took place, and most had been
sleeping, and Bryson realized that they had made a mistake and
there could be more than one person in on it.

Bryson realized that they now had a killer,
who had a motive to kill, and all the evidence showed that the
person had gone to great lengths to carry it out, and that they
would have to sleep there with him lurking in shadows.

Chapter 10

The Top Floor

The castle was colossal, and dangerous beyond
belief at times, and they had checked all the stuff that they had
accumulated and found there had been many occurrences of visions of
things, and they seemed not to want to enter into the unexplored
regions, where many of them thought deadly dangers lurked waiting
for them!

They mostly rested and investigated things
around them for what they were missing and Bryson soon realized
that none of them had noticed his discovery of activating things
mentally, and he decided to keep it his little secret until he
could complete exploring it and its capabilities.

The major problem would be food, and maybe
drink if they entered the interior of the castle as they got water
from outside.

His attempts at creating food had failed, as
well as for other things, and he realized that the walls only had
so many functions.

Yet after many attempts he eventually
created a food and drink dispenser in his room, but had to alter it
from creating weird food substances, which he never liked, and he
eventually altered it to make the food and drink that he wanted and
finished it off by creating simple controls for them to use, and
once finished he hid it away and found an unexplored room nearby to
create another one, and later informed Merton and Mortimer of his
discovery in the meeting room.

Most of the scientists there were confused
over the discovery and asked questions about it, but he just
avoided detailed replies! He was curious if they would discover
what he had found, and wanted know what they would come up
with!