The Alien Orb (9 page)

Bryson started to realize the implications
of things and that they might have to check what was there and
things of great danger!

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

Bryson suddenly felt deep tiredness and
wished that he had stayed in bed, and was asleep.

Why were they not tired like him? What had
they been doing when they heard the sounds?

In the darkness at the end of the
corridor two figures came rushing towards them from the
stairs
–
resembling a sort of dream view to Bryson in his sleepy
state
–
and
the figures turned out to be two of Mitchell
’
s men, who were on guard
below, and they whispered things in Mitchell
’
s ear.

Mitchell
’s
face turned frantic, and he was
desperate to do something, and he rushed away with the two men to
where the men had been, and to the stairs.

“
What are they up
to?
”
Merton
muttered, staring, bewildered.

“
This place is a hell of a
place!
” Bryson
mumbled.

Bryson watched drifting currents of
snowflakes blow about a room window, and he realized that he really
felt like going to bed. It had been a long day and the next day
could even be longer, and he watched Mortimer rush away after them
to the stairs, and he wondered what he was missing. Even though he
had done what he felt like doing
–
rush away
–
but in the opposite
direction
–
to his bed, and without saying anything.

Why were they not all tired like him? And he
recalled all the things he had been doing and all the late nights
before he had arrived there.

He watched them rush into the darkness at
the stairs and realized that they might have to stay up for a long
time, to obtain the conclusion to what was occurring, and he
realized he had better follow to get it over with.

Merton shrugged and followed him, and they
eventually started chasing after them.

In the sounds behind him he heard a
rhythmical tapping, slowly increasing 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
Mitchell
’
s
men came running along, while they were fixing gun holsters on
their waists.

Bryson saw Mitchell going down the stairs
with his gun in his hand. They seemed to have adjusted their lights
dimmer, to make them darker and not open targets.

The situation looked bad! If someone did not
die it would be surprising!

Bryson and Merton rushed to them and
crept down the stairs
–
which creaked loudly when they made rapid
movements.

At the bottom of the stairs he watched their
dark figures creep around from room to room looking for something,
occasionally giving a significant gasp, which most of them had
given since they had arrived at the castle.

They eventually approached Mortimer trying
to get information.

“
Let
’s
look in the
kitchen!
”
Mitchell warned, creeping away.

His men followed him. And one of them
switched on a light and they rushed into the kitchen, holding out
their guns, ready to shoot at anything that appeared.

Bryson felt awake again, but tired and he
avoided staggering.

“
I saw someone down here with a
gun,
”
one
of Mitchell
’
s men muttered to them, moving along with
them.

How had he seen anyone down here he
wondered? It had been so dark without the lights that it was
virtually in complete darkness, and when he questioned him further
he told them that all they had seen had been a dark figure with a
gun.

When Mitchell entered the kitchen they
heard him gasp loudly, grasping Bryson
’
s attention as he had definitely
found something, and they rushed in after him.

When they reached the kitchen it was
virtually in darkness and Bryson turned his head about to search in
every direction and to where he saw gusts of snow blowing
rhythmical against a window, and through the window he saw the
haunting dark shapes of the trees of the wood shifting in the wind,
almost hidden in the dark about the castle.

The brightness beamed down from the kitchen
lights lighting everything about them, when someone finally turned
them on, and they entered further and glared over at an area of the
floor, to their side, where Mitchell was kneeling next to a dead
body.

Chapter 15

Mind-Bending
Dreams

Lights flew
around everywhere like electric forms of insects stopping Bryson
from seeing anything else in his surreal dream, with him mildly
viewing it while he happily slept, floating freely.

Deep in dark
regions he caught sight of things shifting about with no form to
what they were or doing, like energy floating wildly around in a
void surrounding him, and to his fascination he heard sounds of
thoughts like whispers from out in hidden places or invisible
zones, and they taunted him.

Energies of
the universe shone and moved, which normally would have been
invisible, and he saw mist formations that were really energy
formations and he realized that he was seeing something as it
really was, which was powerful and intelligent, which never really
made sense when thought about, but which did as a fantasy.

It resembled
floating in a cold dark cloudless night sky with no ground below,
under a bright moon, and a lunar colored radiance emerged
everywhere.

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

He felt the
presence of something mysterious and alive, which existed all
around him and which he could not account for, and again he looked
out at the lights and wondered what it all was, and studied it.
Even though he never recognized anything it had a familiar look,
which he determinedly tried to grasp.

He was
suddenly awakened by a loud knock that rattled his room door up and
down and he saw by the morning light that it was later than he had
intended to sleep and he rolled sideways and checked his clock and
realized that it was even later.

He
automatically listened to the voice of Mortimer asking him where he
was, and he told him he was getting dressed.

Even though it
was winter and the border of window was shrouded with vines and
other vegetation it was bright with the sun and light blue sky and
the snow covering the entire landscape, and he quickly put on his
clothes and opened the door and saw Merton and Mitchell, who both
studied him curiously.

“
You
wanted us to contact you if anything happened,” Merton stated,
excitedly. “Well, something has! You’d better get down to the
lounge 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 new scientists that they had brought
in, who were checking areas of the corridor.

“
One of
our men just found a few faint footprints of the killer at another
window further along from the kitchen!”

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

“
He
killed one of my men – who must have discovered him doing something
... And he got out the door, escaped into the wood ... And must
have returned later ...”

“
He
wouldn’t have dared go deep into the wood!”

“
And we
should have predicted his movements ...”

“
You
found the remains of his footprints after the heavy snow fall, with
the prints at the window that he entered, where they avoided being
fully covered over ...”

“
Perfectly correct! We are having a discussion on it in the
lounge and wanted you there!”

“
But
this means the killer is in the castle and that he can’t
escape!”

Both Merton
and Mitchell nodded in agreement!

Chapter 16

The First Death

All the main people in the castle were there,
sitting silently in the large lounge, where everything seemed to
have massive proportions for some reason.

They all sat still in various large seats at
various angles, in seats found in the surrounding rooms, in front
of what must be the largest fireplace Bryson had ever seen, with
the logs blazing away with a high temperature from all the logs
someone had piled into it, surely to fit it in there without making
it too small.

Mitchell resumed his pacing across
their path, leaving a faint trail over the late nineteenth century
carpet there, which the whole castle had as well as main other
modifications that allowed people to live there, which had been
added later on
–
including electrical lighting, kitchens, toilets, proper beds
...

They had found a generator that powered
everything, when they had tried to connect the generator that the
helicopter had brought in. Yet even with all the later technology
the castle remained the same, lost in time and trapped in a warp in
time.

Mitchell
’
s expressions barely ever altered
but now showed there was trouble ahead, and some of the time he was
in deep thought not quite mentally there.

Bryson wondered if any of them had been
confronted with such crimes before, and why they had?

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 castle! And he realized why they had wanted him
there and Merton had taken Mitchell up to get him, and he realized
that he could have a lot of problems ahead of him!

They were not experienced enough to conduct
an investigation, and the last time it was the police that had been
doing things and he had helped.

He was sure that Mitchell had some facts
about the killing that he was not revealing, and he tried to think
of what he would not say and what he would do! Yet there was little
to go at the moment and he left it for later.

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

The others were mainly discussing the
death but knew little, going by what they said. They were waiting
for something to occur and come to some conclusion
–
perhaps even
waiting for an argument to occur. Then perhaps they might get some
information to enlighten them about it.

Bryson gave occasional shudders from the
cold that came through the opened door. His lungs felt as if they
had sandpaper grated over them from breathing in the cold in his
room.

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

Mitchell turned and coughed into a
handkerchief.

“
I don
’t
understand,
”
Merton argued,
“
why someone would
want to kill the guy? What did he not want us to find out by being
caught in the kitchen ...?
”

“
You could be right!
”
Mitchell replied.
“
Why did he not
want to be caught so much?
”

“
How did a stranger know about this
place? Who do you think he was?
”

“
I don
’
t know, but we
’
ll have to make sure it
doesn
’
t
happen again! Now knowing this place ... I could imagine him easily
as a lunatic ...
”

“
Are the cops coming
then?
”
Bryson asked, seeing the meeting there was to get everyone
informed on what was happening.

“
They
’
ll be arriving later today by
helicopter!
”
Mitchell answered, showing the situation was nothing to do
with him.

“
It
’
s going to be really tricky explaining the
place and the situation to them ...?
”

The police obviously might not accept the
full account and of what had happened to them in the wood, and it
clearly involved a horrendous crime ...

Mitchell turned his face away from the
fireplace and its yellow radiance flickered over his back, and
Bryson watched gray wisps of smoke rising up the chimney.

“
Anyway,
I wanted to ask you all ...
Did anyone see anyone near
this place?
”
Mitchell spoke, standing, and watching nobody move in the
room, and they all nodded that they never one by one.