Unexpected Suprises
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot!! Same old...Same old...=)
A/N: I'm so very sorry about the delay in updating!! Maybe one more chapter and an epilogue left to go! School's over next week!! YAY!!!! I've made it through my freshman year of college!! I never knew it would be so much work...I just thought I was there to have a good time...Boy, was I wrong!! But, I digress...And Now: the rest of the story (I know...that's not mine either!! Thanks, Paul Harvey!!) =)
"I don't get it!" Sydney cried in frustration. "We've searched every inch of this stage a million times in the past three hours. Why haven't we found the book?" She glanced up at Nigel, who just shrugged his shoulders, and then at Lindsey, who was studying the riddle intently. Sydney began to walk towards her, but her words stopped Sydney.
"Because, we're not looking in the right place." Lindsey looked up. She had the same glow on her face as she did the day that she had finished the translation. She walked to center stage, then faced towards the back of the stage. "Of course, I dont' know why I didn't see it before!!" Lindsey was practically jumping up and down now.
"What is it, Lindsey?" Nigel asked. Curiosity was getting the better of him.
"It's the Proskene Hut!!" Lindsey shouted.
"The wha..??" Nigel and Sydney asked together.
"The Proskene Hut! Of course I didn't think about it before...we don't have them anymore!!" Lindsey looked at her friends and quickly explained. "See, back in Ancient Greece, theatre had what you call Proskene huts. These were the places where scenery and props were assembled, stored, and disassembled.
"The equivalent to our 'backstage area'?" Nigel asked.
"Exactly. It would have been in this general area." Lindsey said, as she walked toward the back of the stage. "I just don't know where exactly." Lindsey began to pace back and forth around the back of the stage, and suddenly, her foot hit a place in the stage that made a hollow sound. "Hear that?" she asked. "It's hollow. If my research is correct, the Theatre underwent "preservation" about 50 years ago. They replaced boards that were rotten and such. This was probably a trap door of some kind, the presentation team didn't know that, so they boarded it up for safety reasons."
"Kick it, Syd." Nigel looked at Sydney, who had already done so. She broke through the planks with ease. She shined her flashlight down into the hole. There were a few chairs and tables, all of which were covered with an extremely thick layer of dust. It was obvious that no one had been down here in a long time. Syd looked up and smiled.
"LINDSEY!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone looked up to see Aaron running across the stage to them. "Thank goodness I found you! I have to tell you something very important."
"Aaron, what is it?" Lindsey asked concerned.
"It's Nico. He's not who he says he is." Aaron was out of breath. Lindsey put her arm around him and helped him sit down on the stage floor. She sat beside him. Sydney and Nigel got closer to them.
"Calm down, Aaron. How do you know?" Lindsey asked him. She gave a quick glance at Sydney and Nigel, her eyes full of concern, and then focused her attention on Aaron as he answered her.
"Well, as I was leaving the hotel, I saw Nico on the pay phone. I got closer to him, and I heard him speaking in a very American voice talking to some guy named Troy. He said, "Nico was a fool...I've almost got the book. I'll have it by tomorrow...Lindsey won't let me down." I've been kinda wary of him since I found out he worked for the Theatre because I didn't recognize him as a regular employee. I called the Sandra, an assistant in the main office, and she said that Nicholaus Onassis hasn't been to work for a week now and no one has seen him. Lindsey, this guy's a fraud." Aaron gasped for oxygen as he finished his story. The poor guy had been going non-stop.
"It's okay, Aaron. He's not here. I have a feeling we'll find the book tonight, and then we won't have to worry about Nico, or whoever he is, anymore." Lindsey smiled at Aaron. Her smile always had a way of making people feel better. Nigel looked at her with love. God, how he loved her.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find us a book!" Sydney said with excitement. And with that, she lowered herself down into the hole. Nigel followed close behind her, catching Lindsey as she lowered herself into it, and Aaron behind her. Three flashlight beams brought to light the tiny understage and all of it's contents. Lindsey quickly noticed something on the wall and went to look at it. Nigel quickly followed behind her.
"Nigel, what does this say?" Lindsey asked, sweeping dust off of the wall to reveal ancient greek letters. Nigel quickly walked up behind her and looked at the words in disbelief.
"It appears to be written in the same version of Langric as the manuscripts were. If it is the same version, then this phrase says, "The heart and soul of an actor never leaves the theatre." Nigel looked at Lindsey with awe. "It appears that Lindsey may have found the final resting place of the book"
"I've got some equipment in the truck. I'm going to need some help. Nigel, why don't you and Aaron come and help me, and let Lindsey have a few minutes alone with her discovery?" Sydney looked at Lindsey and smiled. She knew how much being in this place ment to Lindsey. Sydney wanted to give her some time to revel in the Theatre's greatness.
"Okay!" Nigel and Aaron answered in unison. "I'll be right back, love," Nigel told her before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you." He looked in her eyes and knew that that's where he wanted to be lost forever. With that, he turned and followed Aaron and Sydney up through the trap door.
Lindsey just marveled in what she saw. She looked around the room. The awe that she felt in this little room almost brought her to tears. She turned to face the wall and gingerly touched the words that were inscribed upon it. A few minutes later, Lindsey heard someone drop down into the small room with her. "Wow. It sure didn't take you long to get that equipment did it?" Lindsey asked humorously. She turned around, but did not see Sydney, Aaron, or Nigel. Her eyes widened and she began to shake with fear. The person she saw was the last person she ever expected to see.
"Hello, Lindsey," a cold, disturbingly familiar voice began. "It's been such a long time."
A/N: Sorry! A cliffhanger!! I know! But, hopefully, y'all can guess who it is. The next chapter will be up much sooner than this one was, now that school is over!! YAY!! Please Read and Review!!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot!! Same old...Same old...=)
A/N: I'm so very sorry about the delay in updating!! Maybe one more chapter and an epilogue left to go! School's over next week!! YAY!!!! I've made it through my freshman year of college!! I never knew it would be so much work...I just thought I was there to have a good time...Boy, was I wrong!! But, I digress...And Now: the rest of the story (I know...that's not mine either!! Thanks, Paul Harvey!!) =)
"I don't get it!" Sydney cried in frustration. "We've searched every inch of this stage a million times in the past three hours. Why haven't we found the book?" She glanced up at Nigel, who just shrugged his shoulders, and then at Lindsey, who was studying the riddle intently. Sydney began to walk towards her, but her words stopped Sydney.
"Because, we're not looking in the right place." Lindsey looked up. She had the same glow on her face as she did the day that she had finished the translation. She walked to center stage, then faced towards the back of the stage. "Of course, I dont' know why I didn't see it before!!" Lindsey was practically jumping up and down now.
"What is it, Lindsey?" Nigel asked. Curiosity was getting the better of him.
"It's the Proskene Hut!!" Lindsey shouted.
"The wha..??" Nigel and Sydney asked together.
"The Proskene Hut! Of course I didn't think about it before...we don't have them anymore!!" Lindsey looked at her friends and quickly explained. "See, back in Ancient Greece, theatre had what you call Proskene huts. These were the places where scenery and props were assembled, stored, and disassembled.
"The equivalent to our 'backstage area'?" Nigel asked.
"Exactly. It would have been in this general area." Lindsey said, as she walked toward the back of the stage. "I just don't know where exactly." Lindsey began to pace back and forth around the back of the stage, and suddenly, her foot hit a place in the stage that made a hollow sound. "Hear that?" she asked. "It's hollow. If my research is correct, the Theatre underwent "preservation" about 50 years ago. They replaced boards that were rotten and such. This was probably a trap door of some kind, the presentation team didn't know that, so they boarded it up for safety reasons."
"Kick it, Syd." Nigel looked at Sydney, who had already done so. She broke through the planks with ease. She shined her flashlight down into the hole. There were a few chairs and tables, all of which were covered with an extremely thick layer of dust. It was obvious that no one had been down here in a long time. Syd looked up and smiled.
"LINDSEY!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone looked up to see Aaron running across the stage to them. "Thank goodness I found you! I have to tell you something very important."
"Aaron, what is it?" Lindsey asked concerned.
"It's Nico. He's not who he says he is." Aaron was out of breath. Lindsey put her arm around him and helped him sit down on the stage floor. She sat beside him. Sydney and Nigel got closer to them.
"Calm down, Aaron. How do you know?" Lindsey asked him. She gave a quick glance at Sydney and Nigel, her eyes full of concern, and then focused her attention on Aaron as he answered her.
"Well, as I was leaving the hotel, I saw Nico on the pay phone. I got closer to him, and I heard him speaking in a very American voice talking to some guy named Troy. He said, "Nico was a fool...I've almost got the book. I'll have it by tomorrow...Lindsey won't let me down." I've been kinda wary of him since I found out he worked for the Theatre because I didn't recognize him as a regular employee. I called the Sandra, an assistant in the main office, and she said that Nicholaus Onassis hasn't been to work for a week now and no one has seen him. Lindsey, this guy's a fraud." Aaron gasped for oxygen as he finished his story. The poor guy had been going non-stop.
"It's okay, Aaron. He's not here. I have a feeling we'll find the book tonight, and then we won't have to worry about Nico, or whoever he is, anymore." Lindsey smiled at Aaron. Her smile always had a way of making people feel better. Nigel looked at her with love. God, how he loved her.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's find us a book!" Sydney said with excitement. And with that, she lowered herself down into the hole. Nigel followed close behind her, catching Lindsey as she lowered herself into it, and Aaron behind her. Three flashlight beams brought to light the tiny understage and all of it's contents. Lindsey quickly noticed something on the wall and went to look at it. Nigel quickly followed behind her.
"Nigel, what does this say?" Lindsey asked, sweeping dust off of the wall to reveal ancient greek letters. Nigel quickly walked up behind her and looked at the words in disbelief.
"It appears to be written in the same version of Langric as the manuscripts were. If it is the same version, then this phrase says, "The heart and soul of an actor never leaves the theatre." Nigel looked at Lindsey with awe. "It appears that Lindsey may have found the final resting place of the book"
"I've got some equipment in the truck. I'm going to need some help. Nigel, why don't you and Aaron come and help me, and let Lindsey have a few minutes alone with her discovery?" Sydney looked at Lindsey and smiled. She knew how much being in this place ment to Lindsey. Sydney wanted to give her some time to revel in the Theatre's greatness.
"Okay!" Nigel and Aaron answered in unison. "I'll be right back, love," Nigel told her before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you." He looked in her eyes and knew that that's where he wanted to be lost forever. With that, he turned and followed Aaron and Sydney up through the trap door.
Lindsey just marveled in what she saw. She looked around the room. The awe that she felt in this little room almost brought her to tears. She turned to face the wall and gingerly touched the words that were inscribed upon it. A few minutes later, Lindsey heard someone drop down into the small room with her. "Wow. It sure didn't take you long to get that equipment did it?" Lindsey asked humorously. She turned around, but did not see Sydney, Aaron, or Nigel. Her eyes widened and she began to shake with fear. The person she saw was the last person she ever expected to see.
"Hello, Lindsey," a cold, disturbingly familiar voice began. "It's been such a long time."
A/N: Sorry! A cliffhanger!! I know! But, hopefully, y'all can guess who it is. The next chapter will be up much sooner than this one was, now that school is over!! YAY!! Please Read and Review!!
