Jeremy Robinson - The Didymus Contingency

“I-I don’t know,” Judas said, wide eyed.

The owner held up a bracelet. It was gold with two green gems and a red ruby. “This bracelet was part of Solomon’s own treasure,” declared the owner.

“Really?” Judas’s eyebrows rose.

“Try it on. See how it fits you.”

Judas raised his arm to the owner, who slipped it on Judas’s wrist, mimicking a servant.

“There you are, master,” the owner said. “Like King Solomon himself!”

“Buy it,” said a voice inside Judas’s head.

“Yes, buy it! You’re a king,” another voice said.

Dismissing the voices as his own thoughts, Judas smiled wide as he looked at the bracelet, snug on his wrist. It fit him well indeed! Judas looked at the owner. “How much?”

Judas had never bought something that wasn’t on the order and now that he had, he felt great. True, it was expensive, but he was in charge of the money and no one needed to know. If someone asked, he would tell the others it was a gift. Judas looked at his wrist where the bracelet dangled below the five loaves of bread. King Solomon had nothing on him!

The shopping district of the lower city was nearly behind Judas as he strode onto an empty street, which was lined with alleys on either side. He was oblivious to the world and almost didn’t hear the high-pitched voice call to him. “Hello!”

Windows, doors and alleyways spun through Judas’s vision as he searched the vicinity for the body belonging to the voice. Where did it come from and was it talking to him?

“Over here!”

Judas pivoted and saw only an empty alley.

“Where are you, child? I cannot see you.” Judas said.

“The alley in front of you. Quick, I need your help!”

Judas approached the alley cautiously and peered into the shadows. He thought he saw a small figure on the ground, but it was too dark inside the alley to make out clearly.

“Please, hurry,” pleaded the voice, which Judas now thought must belong to a little girl. She sounded scared, maybe hurt. Judas caught a glimpse of his bracelet, strong, noble and kingly. Helping someone in need felt like the right thing for a man like Judas to do. He placed his bread on the ground just inside the alley and entered.

Looking at the ground before placing each foot forward, Judas edged into the alley and stopped just five feet away from a little girl who was sitting on the ground with her back to Judas. “Are you lost?” Judas asked.

“I need your help,” the girl said.

An old feeling suddenly clawed at Judas. Since Judas had saved his friends from being stoned at the temple, he hadn’t felt afraid. He was a new man, a brave man. He couldn’t understand why this was happening again. His fingers grew cold and tingly. He thought of retreat, but wouldn’t leave the little girl to whatever danger might be around. “Tell me, child, what would you have me do?”

“Do you follow the man named Jesus?” the child asked.

Judas’s palms grew sweaty and his eyes darted around the alley. What was making him feel this way? His senses pounded on his skull, warning of danger, issuing the call to flee. But the child! “Yes, yes I do. Now then, come along. Let’s get you out of this alley. Quickly, child.”

“Take my hand,” the child said.

The girl raised a chubby hand in the air and Judas took a hold of it. Her grip was loose at first but quickly became like a wine press. The girl whipped her head around toward Judas, revealing a chapped and distorted face, as though her skin was peeling tree bark. “Judas, Judas,” the girl said, her voice like an angry old man’s. “How trusting of you. Even the prowling lion can look as pure and innocent as a small child. Did not your master teach you that?”

Lungs heaving and heart racing, Judas felt his throat swell with anxiety. What was this? He opened his mouth to scream, but no air escaped. The darkness in the alley began to move, to writhe over the walls and floor like a living shadow. The black mass sealed off the entrance to the alley and he felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

Judas yanked his hand away from the hideous girl and fell backwards against the alley’s wall. Before he could catch a breath, the girl was standing above him with her rot-smelling face only inches from his. “Do you know who I am, Judas?”

His body trembling, Judas was unable to answer.

“Yes, you do… I can see it in your eyes,” the girl said with a smile.

“What do you want with me?” shouted Judas.

“I told you the truth,” the girl said, as she stood up straight. “You see. I’m not all bad.” The girl smiled wider. “I need your help.”

The swirling darkness closed in tighter, reducing the alley to a ten-foot black box, and shrinking. Voices could be heard from the darkness. “You will help us. Yes, help us. Buy the bracelet. It looks so good on you! Like a king! Like a fool! Like a traitor! Yes, yes, yes!”

“Will you help me, Judas?” the girl asked.

The darkness closed in tighter and tighter so that Judas wouldn’t have been able to stand. It threatened to crush them both. Judas felt his life being snuffed. His heart pounded. He wished for death but knew it wouldn’t come. He closed his eyes tight, terrified to see what would happen. “ Yes!” he cried. “I’ll help you! Just stop! Please stop!”

A searing heat burned Judas’s back, spreading through his shoulders and into his head. Then the pain dissipated. Judas waited several seconds. He heard nothing, felt nothing. He opened his eyes. The girl was gone. He was alone in the alley, as though nothing had happened. Resting his head on his arms, Judas whimpered and cried like a beaten child.

“ Get up, Judas!” came a loud voice.

Judas screamed and jumped to his feet. His head twisted from side to side, searching. But no one was there. No girl. No blackness. There was no source for the voice. It was all around him… No, it was inside him.

“You know where you need to go. Caiaphas is waiting for you. You know what must be done. Judas, I have faith in you,” the voice said.

Judas caught his breath for a moment, then ran to the edge of the alley, picked up his bread and ran toward the upper city.

The noise was immense as Sally crashed into the wardrobe department and spilled into a closet of medieval outfits, knocking chain mail, long swords and shields displaying every sort of national emblem, to the floor. She fell to her hands and knees and vomited into a leather boot. David had told Sally about the side effects of time travel, but the twisting feeling in her stomach was much worse than he had described. And she had yet to actually travel through time. She simply used the watch to transport from midair to the wardrobe department, which she supervised. She knew if she was going to save Tom and David then she better fit in as best as possible and her current, skin tight, black ninja outfit wasn’t going to cut it.

Sally moved to retch again, but her entire body became rigid and she held down her bile as the door creaked open. Someone must have heard the noise! Sally ducked behind a rack of British army uniforms and held her breath. She could hear footsteps wandering in the dark, searching for something…for a light switch!

The lights clicked on and set the room ablaze with fluorescent light. “Hello?” came a voice that Sally recognized.

“Director McField, is that you?”

How did Spencer know it was her?

Spencer stopped moving. She could feel his eyes searching for her. “I saw you take the watch, Sally. David told me that if something went wrong that I could trust you. He should have been back by now…and that means something went wrong…but you figured that out already, didn’t you? That’s why you’re going back too?”