Europa Awakenings Read online

Terrance met Europa’s friends for lunch the next day, as planned, hoping they would have word about Europa. But, to his disappointment, they too had heard nothing. Like his, their calls still went unanswered and the gates were still locked. Frustrated by their inability to ascertain the truth, and deeply saddened by the death of Medaron, the four decided to cancel lunch. The girls left promising once more to keep Terrance apprised of anything they heard and he did the same. He escorted the ladies to their cars, giving each one a hug goodbye. After they left, he turned to go back inside and up to his room. As he entered the lobby, the manager called him over to the service desk.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Landers. I understand your father has not returned yet.”

  “That is correct.”

  “That is unfortunate, for it puts me in an awkward predicament, I’m afraid.” Terrance could see Mr. Everett was a bit nervous and was having trouble looking him directly in the eye. “When your father was here the other day he only paid for his room up through today. He believed his business here would be concluded and he would be leaving for Michigan this afternoon. Evidently, those plans have changed and he will be extending his stay. However, since he is not here to pay for his room, I cannot keep the room for him. I was wondering if you would like to pay for several more days or, if you prefer, you can move his belongings into your room. That is, if you are staying.”

  “Yes, I am staying for a while. I’m not sure how much longer my father will remain in the field so I think it best for me to bring his belongings to my room. If you could have someone let me into his suite, I’ll remove his things right away.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Landers. I’ll have Rita go up with you and unlock the door.” The manager motioned to a young girl with dark, short hair, wearing a light blue maid’s uniform. “Rita, please unlock the door to room 24B for Mr. Landers. Mr. Landers, if you need help moving your father’s belongings, please let Rita know and she will send Stanley up to assist you.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Everett,” Terrance replied.

  Terrance followed the young maid upstairs to his father’s room, feeling confident there would not be much to move. His father usually traveled pretty light. Upon arriving at his father’s room, Rita unlocked the door and flipped on the light. Terrance stepped inside and quickly surveyed the contents of the room: his father’s clothes, several notebooks, three books and a pile of pictures on the desk. Just as he had suspected, there was little needing to be moved; this would not take long at all. He walked over to the stack of pictures and began to thumb through them, expecting to see various snapshots of the Red Rock sparrows. But they were not pictures of birds – they were pictures of Europa and Minnos. He stared at them in disbelief, catching himself just before he gasped out loud. Thankfully remembering Rita was still waiting at the door, he did his best to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “Please tell Mr. Everett I can handle this myself. There isn’t much here to pack up. It shouldn’t take me long to pack his things."

  “OK, Mr. Landers. If you change your mind, just call the front desk,” Rita said. “We’ll send someone right up to help you.”

  “That I shall,” Terrance replied, walking over to Rita and handing her a five dollar bill. “Thank you for letting me in.” Taking the five, Rita smiled and left.

  Terrance closed and locked the door, then slowly walked over to the desk. Reaching down, he picked up a picture of Europa and just stared at it. “Dad, what were you up to?” Fearing Rita might return to clean the room, he decided it would be safer to look at the pictures in the privacy of his own room. Grabbing the two suitcases from the closet, he quickly gathered his father’s belongings and stuffed everything into the two cases. After he had the visible objects packed, he began to hunt for hidden items. He knew his father usually hid important items and papers in various locations in hotel rooms. Under the mattress he found two journals and two large manila envelopes beneath a dresser drawer. The ceiling panel above the bed revealed a bag containing a hi-tech digital camera, more pictures and several photo cards. Lastly, he checked the breakfast table and its two chairs and was surprised to discover a strange weapon taped to one of the chairs’ underside. He pulled the weapon free, stunned and horrified his father would have such a thing in his possession. It was stocky on one end with something resembling a gun barrel protruding from it. There was no trigger he could discern, but it did have numerous buttons and switches. On top of the stocky end was an oval impression where, evidently, something was to be placed. It appeared to be made of some type of metal, but was surprisingly light.

  “My gosh, Dad, what have you gotten into?” Terrance asked. Tucking the weapon beneath his arm, he picked up the suitcases and hurried from the room, making sure the door locked behind him. Walking as fast as he could without breaking into a run, he hurried towards his own room, occasionally looking back over his shoulder to assure himself he was not being followed. “Stop being so paranoid,” he said to himself. “No one knows what you found in your father’s room. You are overreacting.” Finally, after minutes that felt like hours, he reached his room and quickly slipped inside, closing the door and bolting both locks and latching the security chain.

  Finally feeling safe, Terrance dumped the suitcases’ contents onto the bed and separated the clothing, photos, notebooks and papers into separate piles. Ignoring the clothing, he quickly scanned through the papers and determined there was nothing of importance contained within them. The notebooks revealed information and drawings of the Red Rock sparrows, again nothing of importance. Thinking perhaps he had over-reacted in his father’s room, he picked up one of the journals. To his horror, he saw page after page of detailed notes regarding Minnos and its inhabitants. Fearful of what the second journal might contain, he sat it aside. Summoning up what courage he had left, he took a deep breath and picked up the first manila envelope. His hands shaking slightly, he opened the envelope to discover a copy of the estate land title and a photo of a painting of the original occupants at Minnos. As he scrutinized the photo, he couldn’t help but think how much the woman resembled Mrs. Waters. There were also several drawings of unknown machines with hand scribbled notes written in a strange language. Next, he opened the second envelope and discovered it contained detailed, hand drawn maps of the estate, showing the locations of buildings, trees, streams, etc., in addition to a network of security devices on the property. The map showed in detail which devices were connected together and which could disable a section of the grid. In disbelief, he saw in the middle of the disabled devices a big red X with the words “tree blind” written beside it.

  Suddenly feeling faint, Terrance hurried into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and said, “You can do this, Terrance. You can go through your father’s items and try to figure out the truth.” Taking a deep breath, he walked back to the bed and sat down. He reached over and picked up the stack of photos. Of all the articles in his father’s room, the pictures scared him the most. Praying the majority of the pictures would be of birds and the early pictures of Europa were harmless, he began to thumb through the stack. He stared in disbelief and alarm as he saw more pictures of Europa, along with pictures of Mrs. Waters, Jeanip, the help, the cottage, the grounds, the gate, security devices and more. Each bore a number and letter code on the back. The last picture sent chills of horror down his spine – it was a picture of Europa’s red truck.

  Terrance spent the evening going back through the journals, looking at the pictures, trying to make some sense out of what he found. Try as he might, he could discover no clue as to what his father was up to or why he was spying on Minnos and the Waters family.

  His phone ringing startled him awake. Evidentially, he had fallen asleep while going through his father’s things. He looked at the clock - ten-twenty. The phone rang again. Groggy, he forced himself out of bed and answered the phone. It was Anna. She and the ladie
s were downstairs with news and they needed him to come downstairs right away. Promising to meet them in five minutes, he quickly grabbed everything off the bed and hid it under the mattress. He then dashed into the bathroom, ran some water through his hair, brushed his teeth and put on a clean shirt. After taking a quick look in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable, he placed the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door knob and rushed downstairs. When he stepped out of the elevator he saw Anna waiting for him, but he did not see the other two friends. He could see she had been crying again.

  “What did you find out?” Terrance asked immediately, a little out of breath. “Did you get to talk with Europa? How is she doing? Did she tell you why the gate is locked?”

  “Let’s go into the dining room,” Anna suggested, as she reached out and took his hand. “I’ll answer all your questions once we are seated. Suzie and Rannie are already waiting at the table for us.” Terrance followed her into the dining room, thinking her news must be bad if he needed to sit down to hear it. As he neared the table, Terrance saw Suzie and Rannie had also been crying. “Tell me what you know,” Terrance insisted, his voice shaking as scenarios ran through his mind. “Is Europa alright?”

  “Europa has not been injured,” Rannie said, wiping her tears away with several tissues.

  “It’s not good,” Suzie said. “The family has released a statement to be printed in today’s newspaper. Out of respect for our friendship with Europa, they asked we be given a copy before the paper comes out. We were asked to share it with you.” Suzie reached into her shirt pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Terrance. No one said a word as Terrance took the paper, unfolded it and read the announcement.

  It is with much sadness the Waters family announces Medaron Waters was killed in an automobile accident Tuesday afternoon on her drive home from town. The cause of the accident is unknown and currently under investigation by the police. A private family ceremony was held on Wednesday, at which time Mrs. Waters was laid to rest next to her husband in the family cemetery. She is survived by her daughter, Europa and her brother, Jeanip Smith. Her husband, Enok Waters, preceded her in death.

  To allow the family sufficient time to grieve, the family will remain cloistered at the estate. The family thanks you for any condolences, but requests you refrain from flowers or visits.

  “Oh, Europa,” Terrance said, unable to think of anything else to say.

  “I can’t believe they’ve already buried Mrs. Waters,” Rannie stated. “She was loved by everyone in town. I wonder why the quick funeral.”

  “Terrance, didn’t you say the truck was badly burned and smashed?” Suzie asked Terrance.

  “Yes. There wasn’t much left of it except for a smashed, burned out shell,” Terrance replied, remembering what the truck looked like.

  Suzie gazed at the three. “That’s probably why they buried her so fast. Her body was probably badly burned.”

  “I guess there is nothing we can do then until Jeanip opens those damn gates” Terrance replied. “Thanks for sharing this with me.” Terrance folded the announcement and handed it back to Suzie.

  “No, you keep it,” Suzie said, as she stood. “We should get back to the house in case Europa calls. Call if you need anything, Terrance.”

  “I will,” he replied. After giving each a hug, he watched them leave, then returned to his room. He began to examine his father’s belongings again, trying to make some sense out of it all. Then he remembered the fact Mrs. Waters was royal and his father had been searching for a lost royal family for years, traveling all over the world investigating stories and leads, determined to discover where they had gone. What if he thought the Waters were part of that lost royal family? It would definitely explain a lot. Then a terrifying thought entered his mind: What if, in some way, his father was responsible for Mrs. Waters’ death? Could it be possible? Somehow, someway, he had to get inside Minnos and find out more about the accident. He had to know the truth. He wished he had told Europa that day they found the blind something strange was going on. Perhaps if he had, Mrs. Waters would still be alive. Why didn’t he tell her?

  Terrance began to pace the floor, consumed with regret and worry. As he passed the dresser mirror he happened to look at his reflection and stopped. “Terrance Landers, what are you doing? Look at yourself – you’re making yourself crazy. Forget about what your father may or may not have done and concentrate on what you know, what you have before you on the bed. Imagining all kind of scenarios is not going to help Europa or get you inside of Minnos. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!” Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the bed and put any thought of his father’s connection to Medaron’s death out of his mind. He spent the remainder of the day studying the pictures and papers, matching several pictures to references in his father’s journal.

  One referenced picture he found very intriguing. It was a photograph of an old painting from 1628 of a man and a woman. The journal reference stated his father had discovered it in a little art museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The reference stated the portrait was of an E. and M. Waters, who were the original settlers of Minnos. Terrance shuffled through the pictures, remembering he had seen a similar photograph. When he found it, he turned it over and read the notation on the back: Mr. & Mrs. E. Waters, painted in 1682. He placed the two pictures side by side and was shocked to see it not only appeared to be of the same two people in both pictures, but they were also the same age in each. But he knew that was impossible. The two paintings were done fifty-four years apart. Terrance did not know what Mr. Waters looked like, but these two women definitely resembled Mrs. Waters. He quickly looked through the journal to see if his dad possibly referenced the ladies’ first names, but could find none. Suddenly, a folded piece of paper fell out of the journal and dropped to the floor. He picked it up and saw a rubbing of a headstone of another woman looking exactly like Mrs. Waters dated 1783 with a name written at the bottom – Medaron Waters, wife of Enok Waters. Could Enok Waters be the name of Europa’s father also? Didn’t the announcement Suzie had given him contain Mr. Waters’ name? He quickly pulled it from his pocket and read it twice, making sure he was reading it correctly. It stated “Her husband, Enok Waters, preceded her in death”. This was impossible. Either these were the same two people who had been alive for hundreds of years or the Waters’ brothers and sisters were all named the same and were marrying each other. Both possibilities were improbable.

  No longer able to contain his curiosity of what the other journal contained, Terrance finally decided to look inside. Holding his breath in an attempt to control his anxiety, he opened the book and saw it was a detailed journal in which was recorded the daily activities of Minnos, beginning twelve days prior to his arrival. Recorded were the times each person rose in the morning and went to bed at night, when they ate their meals, what chores were done and when, what Medaron and Europa did, the times people left the estate and returned, when security grids were turned on, when the front gate was locked and more. Terrance was astonished at the great detail of each event. As he continued to scan the entries, he noticed a number-letter code next to many of the entries. It appeared to be the same code marked on the pictures. Taking each picture one by one, he began to match them to the daily entries and was given a complete picture of the happenings at Minnos. He was astonished to see there were even several references and pictures of him, although his father had not known who he was and recorded him as a new young stranger. He continued matching the pictures to the entries until he reached the picture of Europa’s red truck. Closing his eyes for a moment to summon his courage, he read the marked code - ‘E’s EXT’. Frantically he scanned down the page to the last entry and froze, a sick feeling beginning to grow in his stomach. There, in his father’s handwriting, was written the words ‘Europa’s Extinction’. A wave of nausea swept over him. With his hand over his mouth, Terrance ran into the bathroom
and vomited up the little food he had consumed that day as he realized his father WAS responsible for the accident. And more than likely, he had thought it was Europa in the truck, not Mrs. Waters. He vomited again as he realized that, if his father knew he had killed the wrong person, he was probably still out there waiting for his next chance to kill Europa. He slumped to the floor, unsure of what to do, where to go. The one thought that kept repeating over and over in his mind was “Somehow I have to get inside that gate before my father finds a way in. I have to get inside Minnos and save Europa before my father tries to kill her again.”

  JEANIP RETURNS