The Lost Treasure Map Deluxe Book Collection (2017 Edition)

by V Bertolaccini

  I went through all the things I had heard of ghosts being trapped on this world waiting for some occurrence to occur for them to be freed, and enter some afterlife.

  “Have you found anything?” a voice yelled out, and hung there, and I wondering if it had overheard my thoughts, and had taken a form of human presence, and I never knew what to reply with.

  I eventually shouted back, “What do you want of me?”

  To my surprise a reply emerged above, and yelled, “We want you to tell us if you have found anything! And if we should pull you up or lower more rope?”

  I gasped and realized it was Higgins in the blackness above, and I stared there realizing that there must be some light there and if my eyes altered to the darkness there I would see him, and once I did I instantly shouted up for him to lower more rope, as I was going to the bottom, and I realized that I now had to go through with it, and there was no turning back! Yet I had them above now, and could shout up for them to pull me upwards when I wanted.

  In a combination of annoyance and confusion I started lowering myself down again, into the blackness. Annoyed at the rope only being lowered by a couple of feet and in confusion at what I was doing there.

  I had the impression that the two paranormal scientists up above might be on the edge of considering doing something extreme, and beyond their customary actions, and it seemed somehow dangerous.

  For a few seconds, as I lowered myself, I heard Oswald and he gave me the impression that he was waiting for something tremendous to occur, and I wondered if he thought there were paranormal life forms or something!

  I realized the implications of any find and that they and I would have to check what was there!

  I then realized that there might people near the location behind the thick walls in hospital beds and I wondered if they realized that I was there, and that there was something of paranormal origins buried away there.

  Now it was basically the three of us, with Higgins and Oswald above, and I was sure the others had left to go to bed, leaving their equipment monitoring everything, which they believed was there.

  For a few seconds I sleepily wondered what the tiny sparkles were below, and realized that I was nearly falling asleep, and my light had entirely gone out, and they were not reflection sparkles of light from above, and gasped, and realized the implications.

  I felt like a worm on a fishing line, floating in the sea, and there to get what was below! I realized the two paranormal scientists might have trouble climbing down, and were slightly overweight and bulky at the moment, and they would have a hard time getting back up again!

  I even considered if I would have to spend the night at the bottom or something, if I was too tired and sleepy to get back up, and if anything happened to me, and I lodged my boot into a gap between two of the boulders, to rest better.

  I realized how low down I now was and must be close to the bottom, and I suddenly realized the depth down I had come and surely far more than the actual size of the building, and I wondered if I had gone underground, and how far underground I was, and how far down it went, and the blackness there looked like an abyss.

  “So are we going down ...?” Oswald moaned firmly, from out of the blackness above.

  “You could send down a camera with a light attached?” I moaned, confusing both of the scientists.

  “But you must be about on the ground?” Oswald firmly replied.

  The rope started swaying and vibrating furiously, giving the impression that something was frantically doing something against it just above me and I glanced up but never saw anything, and it felt as if something had got caught on the rope just above me and was trying to free itself, and desperately tried to escape from there, like some form of bird, which baffled me, and I realized I had no rope left below me.

  I was trapped over an abyss with something deadly, but the darkness was too absent of light, and it was then that I noticed a dim light come across my front, over my clothes, and I unsuccessfully tried to discover its source, and could not believe that a light could have no source, and looked everywhere, and out of the darkness downwards something emerged shining upwards, and my eyes fixed onto a strange dim orb floating upwards.

  My only way to escape was to swiftly remove my harness and plunge down into the abyss below, and perhaps avoid hitting it, as it was not directly below, but the bottom could be at a great depth below, and the fate of hideously dying on the ground below and having a normal death there persuaded me to remain and handle it.

  My eyes seemed to alter and see some dim light and I realized I was no longer in the shaft, and in somewhere like it.

  A bright light flashed and I realized I was now not in any shafts, and dazed and confused I examined what I could of my surroundings and saw little but what seemed a whirlpool of shifting energy outlines and I studied them with my tired and dazed vision and was sure it was some form of energy formation, and I watched energy patterns transform into things I could not recognize, and I could not grasp what was there, and I started to remember what had happened to me when I activated the metal detector in the woman’s house and I went unconscious.

  Chapter 16

  The Body

  Things seemed strange and utterly unbelievable and I studied everything trying to grasp what, and what had happened to me, and I kept trying to recall what had happened before I collapsed, just wondering what the hell happened.

  I kept gasping as I wondered if I had received brain damage, as I was sure I had fallen down to the bottom of the shaft, and that I was lucky, and lucky to be alive as I could not have been that far over the ground. Even though I recalled I was further down than the bottom of the hospital, and I proved it, and I was left confused about it, and as I had lost so many memories, and I kept trying to recall things.

  I wondered if I blew my mission as the scientists were annoyed at me for not giving them information on what had happened.

  The whole event was incredible, and I could hardly believe anything had happened as I could hardly recall it, and the events of the past weeks were astounding.

  They had found me asleep at the bottom of the shaft hours later, and had thought I had done something or was up to something, which I have still not grasped what, and when I climbed out the shaft I fully realized that I could have climbed up after all.

  At the top I watched the first shreds of sunlight emerging in the horizon, and I wondered what I had discovered as I could barely recall a thing, and I realized that if it was not a haunting why was it occurring at night, as I could even imagine anything else.

  To my surprise I was told by a nurse that I had phone call and I discovered it was from the police and that the killer had struck nearby, and they wanted me there to help them investigate it, and I was surprised that it was only a few streets away, and I sensed that the incidents were connected and wanted to discover why and I rushed out the hospital, and over to where I spotted policemen and their vehicles going, and as I did I kept trying to work out how the incidents were linked.

  When I got there and glanced at the body I gasped and nearly fell over, in my weakened and tired condition, and grew annoyed and felt like screaming, as I saw Marple’s body lying on the street, surrounded by police and investigators.

  I wondering who the hell had done it, and had dumped him there in a pool of muck, and thought it could have occurred because of what I had done, and disturbed what ever existed there.

  I was furious and I marched over and suddenly spotted all the people there standing watching me, confused, with mouths open, watching me with staring unblinking eyes, and I went silent, and when I was only feet away from the body I spotted Marple coming out of a building with a police inspector.

  It was incredible how similar the man was to him and I wondered repeatedly if the killer had thought it was him, as he was doing more than anyone to catch him, and could easily have found out about it from all the publicity it had got.

  The dead man had been viciously beaten to death, and I st
ood wondering what the hell the killer was up to anyway.

  Could it have been caused by the war or it indirectly?

  What was the motive? Why had all the people been killed?

  There was no connection between them!

  Police inspector looked annoyed at not having the case solved, and by the fact they had virtually nothing on the killer, and it looked as if they would never do it now.

  Marple swiftly handed me a sheet of paper with information about the death and deaths, and I started to read it, and studied the crumpled body as someone lifted the body, and I realized that it was a reporter from the sheet of paper, and I wondered if I knew him, and I studied his face.

  I examined the complexion of the frozen body, drained of blood, and from the expressions of people behind nearby windows I realized how dangerous it made the place.

  I wondered if the reporter had discovered something, and knew that Marple would be investigating him and questioning people he knew trying to find what he had been doing before his death.

  I attempted to work out the exact time that it could have occurred, and where I had been, and was sure it could have occurred at night, and I wondered if I should take it as a warning from what had been at the hospital. Yet I could not be sure, as all the facts added up to it not being, and nothing actually suggested it actually was.

  Locals that passed in the distance could not understand what was happening, and people nearby seemed slightly shocked, and I spotted what looked like marks on the ground where the reporter had tried to crawl away in his last seconds of life.

  “Who would want to shoot him?” I asked the inspector, frustrated at not seeing anything suggesting an answer, and not being able to stay silent any longer.

  “What worries me more than anything,” the inspector muttered back to Marple, with confusion, “is that I don’t have a clue!”

  “They’ll find something!” Marple assured him, confidently, and I realized he had to have something, and I was surprised the inspector reacted in the same way.

  Chapter 17

  The Army

  Everything seemed to be edging into disaster, especially the war, and the killer not found, and the disturbances at the hospital and house, and what had happened in the shaft, and strange occurrences emerged, and this time seemed to gain power!

  At the Home Guard headquarters I was left with the other recruits and my attempt to tell them what happened failed, and most put my memory deficiency down to drink, as they drank a lot themselves, and in the end I went along with it, and Godfrey and Clooney thought it was.

  While listening to the recruits having a dispute over racing horses, on which would win, I decided to show I was not drunk after all, and in the end only laughed out loud at them, and one asked me what horse I thought was better, and I just decided to try to persuade them a horse I had heard winning before was better, which I later discovered was a different horse, with a similar name, and argued that the horse was far better than the others, and in the end most stopped listening to me.

  Godfrey eventually bet me it would lose, and all the other soldiers became interested in the bet, and betting against the captain, and perhaps persuaded by my confidence in the horse.

  I realized all the soldiers now had a dispute with the captain, and his methods, and rigorous training, and eventually all of them bet their horse would beat his horse, and made me the originator and head of the idea.

  When the captain left they persuaded me to do everything I could to get it win against the captain’s horse, and I started to realize the situation I had just put myself in, and that the horse had to win, and in the end I bet a large sum of money, and far more than I had ever bet before.

  Later that day one of the other soldiers rushed over to me and went straight up to my face and stared straight in my eyes, and moaned loudly, “Malone! The captain wants you!”

  I marched after the soldier to the captain’s office, where he sharply knocked on his door, and I marched in.

  Again I wondered why the hell I joined the army, and could now barely recall anything of why. It was crazy! I should have remained out of it and left the job for a more experienced recruit, and someone that did the things they wanted, which were far different than I had expected.

  As I stood in front of his desk I listened to two soldiers in the distance having an argument over racing horses, on which would win, and in the end I laughed at it, and Godfrey looked up at me and stared at me.

  “What do you think then?” he asked.

  “They’re alright!” I replied

  “Sure! The horses!” he continued.

  “What for?”

  “To race! I could win on the horse I bet on!”

  The soldier that took me there rushed in carrying out another order, and him handed him a document, and rushed out.

  “Look at this one! What a beauty! What do think, Malone?”

  Godfrey pushed over a pile of photos of horses, and I examined them, and just agreed.

  “Can you make good money from a good horse?” I finally asked, considering if it was an easy way to make a lot of cash, and he just nodded to agree.

  After examining the horses in more detail, realizing that they were basically still all the same, I wondered how they could tell a good horse, and in the end chose what looked like the fittest horse.

  He was surprised and instantly agreed.

  “About that horse you and all the soldiers bet on …” he finally said silently, examining me closely, and I sensed he was going to come out with something.

  “What you want to change your bet to it?” I replied smiling.

  “No! I want you to make the racing horse all of you are betting on lose or not run!”

  “That’s ridiculous!” I replied, nearly laughing.

  “No! I want you to do it! As you’re the one who did it!”

  “Did what?”

  “Put me in it! You’ve put me in it again, Malone! That horse better not run or it better not win!”

  “How the hell can I stop a horse running?” I moaned, thinking of a way to leave.

  “Shut up! Malone! You’ll find a way!”

  I could not believe it, and that I had made such a mistake over with a meaningless action, and I was not even going to bet on anything.

  “If my horse wins I’d split all the money I bet on it with you!”

  He came to a complete stop and started shifting over to me, around his desk, and started telling me what the horse could do.

  I could not believe the amount he told me he had bet on his horse, and going by some details he told me in the end I considered betting on it too! But what I could not grasp was why he thought the other horse we had chosen was going to win.

  When I was about to leave, he shouted, “Sit down!”

  He sat trying to contemplate something when the phone rang and he instantly grabbed at it and listened without hearing anything, and when someone spoke he launched into an argument with the person and started thumping his desk with his fist, and shouted and smashed the phone down.

  He calmed and stared deep into my eyes, trying to penetrate my mind, and when I stared back he looked away, while trying to contemplate some thought.

  “There’s a list of complaints received about you already!” he announced loudly, studying my face, waiting for me to react.

  “About what?” I moaned, annoyed, wondering who would complain, and wondered what the complaints would be about.

  “They complain everywhere and people like you keep ignoring it! Don’t you?”

  Yet I wondered what he was he talking of, and if there were complaints, and why they never liked him. I realized again it could be that he was still reacting to my introduction, when I joined his army group!

  “The people of this country would do better without you!” he shouted loudly.

  “Yeah!” I giggled, avoiding directly looking at him. “So why do the men mostly argue with you?”

  “You’re not annoyed ...” he gasped,
and examined me. “Did you go to the hospital?”

  “What hospital?” I moaned, trying to recall what I had been doing, as I had lost a lot of memories.

  “The Victoria Infirmary!”

  “Yes!” I moaned, annoyed. “Why?”

  “Why what?” he replied firmly.

  “What do you think happened there?” I replied, and realized that something could really have happened there.

  I gasped and silently waited for his reply.

  “You tell me?”

  I shouted, “There were hundreds of people drunk all over the hospital wards, lying all over the floors, and everywhere, vomiting, and throwing beer cans, and the nurses were having a massive drink orgy! You should have seen the place! The whole place was totally covered with people drinking and making love with each other, and there were wild orgies everywhere …”

  Godfrey bent over, holding his head in his hands, and rested his head on the table, while moaning, and finally straightened.

  “I was also investigating a murder nearby!” I continued.

  “The whole country seems to know of you ...” he groaned. “Well, this time I have you! A complaint was made to the police about you!”

  Godfrey took his official pose and sat upright studying my face, as though he was a judge about to sentence me for a serious crime, which I would regret, and I realized that I had to find a way out the blasted army!

  “Malone! You must stop that horse running no matter what … If you don’t I’ll kick you out the army!”

  Chapter 18

  The Race

  For some reason I sensed something was not right and I kept going over everything trying to grasp what.

  After I decided to stay in the army I had paid the horse rider of my horse to lose, and we had made an agreement, and if Godfrey’s horse lost he would be to blame, and there would be nobody winning the bet.

  Yet something was not right, and I sensed it, and I knew I could not do anything about it!