The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson Read Free Book Online Page B

no, he knew that the fate of space and time depended on his keeping his mouth shut.
    The Yankee fan had more news to deliver. “Howevah,” he said, trying to sound smart in the presence of a scientist, “You have trespahssed on tribal lahnd and must beh punished.”
    David didn’t like the sound of that and dove surprisingly fast into the jungle. He had to lose these guys before it was too late for them to murder Megan. David nearly froze with horror at the fact that here he was, in a position to stop Megan’s murder and all he could think about was helping her killers. What the hell was he doing?
    The four men moved like stalking lions and sprinted after David. Thorns and branches tore at David’s clothing and flesh. He tumbled through a heap of brush and crashed down onto a path. To his right he heard a gunshot, to his left lay a field. David’s memory was triggered again. Tom told him of the field, with the tall yellow grass. That was it! This is where it happened.
    Quick to his feet, David managed to make it only ten more steps into the forest on the other side of the path before the four men caught him. There was no dialogue between them, no chance for David to redeem his actions. The four men simply began beating him. He felt the butt of a rifle bruise his ribs. One of their heels pounded his back. A fist to his jaw struck next. These men were punishing David for trespassing, but he knew another minute of this would mean his death sentence. There had to be a way out, something he could offer them. David’s train of thought was brutally interrupted by a popping noise as his shoulder dislocated.
    He screamed as his shoulder sent surges of electrical impulses to his mind telling him his body couldn’t take much more. He was sure his life would soon come to an end. His eyes began to twitch. He was feeling the impacts of fists to his head and boots to his body, but the pain delivered by each blow was now only a numb throb. His body’s natural painkillers flooded his bloodstream. He was going into shock.
    One of the men tried frantically to remove David’s watch from his wrist, but was fumbling the job in his excitement. David thought he heard someone yell, “A woman escapes!” and looked up through his one good eye—the other was swollen shut. Standing not ten feet away was a woman on the path. She was staring at David with a confused expression. The four men must have been confused too because they didn’t take action right away. This delay gave David the time he needed to put the pieces together.
    David recognized Megan from pictures he had seen at Tom’s house. She was as beautiful and strong as the photos showed and as Tom had told. But she wasn’t moving. Why wasn’t she moving? “Megan! Run!” Blood sprayed from David’s mouth as he yelled.
    Megan wrinkled her forehead. David thought she must have been trying to figure out how he knew her name. But his message seemed to sink in. She pounded dirt and ran toward the field. The four men leapt toward her in pursuit, and as they did, David thought he saw something unusual. He watched as the Yankee fan ran, and there, trailing behind him on the forest floor, were two shadows, as though there were two sources of light. But one of the shadows was different; it didn’t follow the man’s every move and at times it seemed to have a will of its own. David was sure his failing vision and beaten mind were playing tricks on him. He had seen enough and would surely die if he remained any longer.
    David looked at his watch through his clear eye. Thank God, they weren’t able to get it off his wrist. David punched in a series of numbers and hit one final button. A bright light began to pulsate over his head. He prayed the loud noise his tear in time would create wouldn’t distract Megan’s murderers from carrying out their evil act.
    The light expanded toward David’s face. He watched it increase in speed through his good eye. He felt his head spinning, his