Read Online The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson - Free Book Online Page A

absorbed his surroundings. He was encircled by trees, bushes and a dazzling array of colorful flowers—orange, yellow and red. He breathed deep as the smell hit him. The fragrant odor of the flowers was like none that had tickled his nose before. Tom had no idea such oases existed in Arizona. Wherever he was, it was beautiful, and Tom decided he would try to remember how to get back, just as soon as he found a way out.
    Tom trudged through the thick forest for what felt like an hour, but was closer to ten minutes. He stopped to rest for a moment and fell asleep. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but knew he hadn’t awoken on his own. A tingling sensation rippled across Tom’s head, causing his hair to stand a little taller. He was not alone, and judging from the amount of wilderness around him, his company probably wasn’t human.
    A crack of twigs in the near distance widened Tom’s eyes and caused his chest to rise and fall a little more quickly. He was in no shape to outrun, outfight or outwit a grumpy animal. He pushed himself up and hugged a tree, pressing his body into the bark in an effort to look as treelike as possible. He sensed that whatever was out there—whatever creature was stalking him—was growing closer.
    Hands tense around the tree trunk, Tom leaned out for a peek. He saw nothing. He leaned in the other direction and let his head slowly emerge from behind the tree. His heart beat to a maddening rhythm. He could feel his pulse in his neck. Then he saw it.
    A floppy eared goat foraged through the forest floor, ruffling through pine needles and leaves as it searched for fallen fruit. Tom sighed. The goat looked up at Tom and immediately went back to searching for a meal. Tom watched the creature, his confusion growing with each slowing breath. A goat? In Arizona?
    Eyes closed, Tom turned, leaning his back against the tree, trying to think. Where am I and how did I get here? Tom’s nose twitched. He smelled something odd carried by the breeze, which had changed directions. He opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat.
    Ten feet away and low to the ground was what looked like an African lion. But it was built differently. Its head was thicker and its body was massive. Tom’s limbs locked as his mind shut down. The lion crawled forward slowly, its muscles tense, ready to pounce. Then it jumped.
    The speed of the creature was amazing. Tom screamed as the lion burst into the air and sailed past his head. He heard the beast land and the whine of the goat before its neck was snapped. Tom’s head spun around. The panting lion was lying on the ground holding the goat’s neck firmly in its jaw.
    Tom now knew he was no longer in Arizona. But he felt it wise to worry about where he was after the immediate physical threat of becoming a lion dessert no longer existed. Tom slowly crept away, keeping the tree between himself and the dining lion. As soon as he was sure the lion could not see, hear or smell him, he ran.
    Trees and shrubs flew past in a blur. He knew this run would do him in, but dying of exhaustion or dehydration was far more appetizing than being eaten alive. He did his best to take in his surroundings as he ran. All around him were things that should not be. The trees were like none he had ever seen and some bore fruit: dates, figs and pistachios.
    Tom grew more and more annoyed by his predicament as his run slowed to a jog. In all his years spent in Arizona, he had never once encountered a mosquito. But now a ravenous swarm of the pests were draining him as if he was a living blood bank. Now walking, Tom used a branch from a pine tree to swish the pests away. A large bird of prey circled overhead, taunting him and making the situation feel that much more perilous.
    His thighs burned and his shins stabbed with pain, but he pressed on. Between the drinks he had the night before and the scalding heat, Tom knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He pushed through a low branch and stumbled into a