Sherlock's Long Lost Daughter {The LOST Chronicles, BOOK 1}

Chapter 10- The Puzzle

Sherlock's Pov-

I was deep in thought, racking my brain trying to figure out what exactly Moriarty was doing. I've been in my mind palace for a few hours now but I still have no answer or have heard anything from Moriarty. I just couldn't focus on anything by myself not knowing where Maddy was, if she was alright and what they are treating her like. It makes everything worse that she was heavily drugged with chloroform so when she eventually regains consciousness she will need proper attention and medicine to help her recover from the drug in her system.

I was thinking about all of this when suddenly I heard my phone chime, I wasn't going to bother coming out of my mind palace to look at it considering that it was probably just Mycroft with another matter of National Importance.

"John, phone." I said quietly to John trying hard to not come out of my mind palace.

"Ugh, where is it?" John asked frustrated.

"Jacket." I simply stated.

"Oh, really Sherlock, really?" John mumbled as he walked over to me and searched around my jacket I was wearing for my phone. 

"Careful." I snapped.

After a few minutes of John rummaging around in my jacket pockets he eventually pulled out my phone and got up the text. 

"Um Sherlock, you had better have a look at this." John stammered.

"Ugh, what could it possibly be that is so important that I need to read it as well as you while I'm in my mind palace trying to figure out Moriarty's game?" I argued opening my eyes and stood up to face John. John gave me another one of his looks but this time it looked more sympathising than irritated. He said nothing and simply handed me my phone and turned around and walked back over to where he was sat.

I gripped my phone firmly in my hand, unlocked it and opened up the text. 

"Solve my little puzzle Mr Holmes and I might think about returning your daughter to you but don't take too long dear, she's already suffering from a head injury. I wonder how that happened...J.M" 

Well Moriarty certainly didn't wait around this time. My emotions started running high, Maddy was injured. She hasn't been gone long and they have already hurt her. I can't imagine how she must be feeling, how badly she is being treated and where she is being held but I need to stop thinking about this because my weakness of sentiment and emotions isn't going to help me get Maddy back. Mycroft is almost never right but he is right about one thing, caring is not an advantage.

I was still stood there holding my phone in my hands, staring down at the screen when my phone chimed again. 

"Here is my little puzzle to you Sherly:

It brings light to a dark, dark world

In a current it travels and through tunnels it's hurdled

Touch it and it'll kill you.

You know what to do once you've figured it out but don't take too long...J.M"

I stood there trying to figure out the riddle with John still looking at me from his chair when my phone chimed again as I received another text.

"...because the longer you take, the more she suffers."

There was an attatchment on the text underneath the writing, I clicked on it and it started to download. It only took a few seconds to download and I opened it up to find a heart breaking picture of Maddy. She was led on her side ,with her arms sprawled out, on a hard concrete floor, unconscious from what I could tell. She was in a small, cramped concrete room, with no furniture, no windows and just a small dim light bulb so her to see.