The Didymus Contingency

by Jeremy Robinson

  After snagging two syringes, Sally put them in her pocket and stepped over Jake, who was still writhing on the floor. Sally smiled. She was going to make it. Getting out should be no problem without the guards at the door.

  “GUARDS!” Jake’s throat had opened up momentarily and his lungs managed to take in enough air to get out one loud scream.

  Sally glared at Jake and he crawled backward, away from her rage, away from those eyes. His face was two shades of crimson as he struggled to suck in another breath. The door to the office was kicked open as Sean and Chuck burst in, weapons drawn. Sally was caught.

  “Freeze!” Sean yelled.

  “Move and you’re dead!” Chuck shouted, as his sweaty index finger twitched nervously on the trigger of his gun.

  Sally’s mind raced for a solution. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before she would be killed.

  * * * * *

  Jesus had led the disciples clear out of the region called Judea, where he believed their lives to be at risk. He made it clear that it was not his time to die and the entire group, including Tom and David, retreated to the region of Samaria, just north of Judea. Rather than stay in a city, the group had set up shop under the stars and had been camping for a week.

  Tom and Judas lay in the grass, far enough away from the campfire to see the bright stars above. The conversation around the fire that night hadn’t been as jovial as Tom would have liked. In fact, everything since leaving Judea had seemed more somber, more serious. Tom and Judas had tired of the seriousness and left the group to talk about the future.

  David joined them soon after, waiting just long enough, Tom suspected, so that it wouldn’t seem obvious that he was keeping tabs on him and Judas. Tom knew the name Judas held negative connotations in the future, something to do with betrayal, but that was about as believable as Jesus being the Son of God. David sat on the grass next to Tom and looked up at the sky.

  “They’re beautiful aren’t they? Like sparkling gems floating in the sky,” Judas said with a smile.

  Tom chuckled. He couldn’t help himself.

  “What’s so funny?” Judas asked. “What do you think they are?”

  David cleared his throat and gave Tom a look that said: Don’t you dare.

  “I think,” Tom started with a semi-sarcastic tone. “I think they are a gift from God, to light our path at night.”

  “The truest words to exit your mouth yet,” Jesus said, as he approached from the campfire. “Are you not cold over here, away from the fire?”

  “We’re fine,” David said.

  Judas sat up and perched himself on his elbows. “It was getting too hot by the fire.”

  “And the conversation was dull,” Tom said with a smirk.

  Jesus smiled. “I fear it will be the last dull moment for some time to come.”

  “Are we leaving?” Tom asked.

  “Not yet,” Jesus answered.

  “Jesus!” yelled a voice from the dark.

  A single torch light cut through the darkness as an out of breath man ran toward the group. “I’m looking for the one called Jesus. Have any of you seen him?”

  Jesus walked to the man. “I am Jesus.”

  “Master, I have been sent to you from Bethany, from the home of your friend Lazarus,” the man said.

  Jesus’s face sank. “He has fallen ill?”

  The man looked surprised, “Yes, his sisters sent me to you so that you might come to Bethany and heal him.”

  “Go then,” Jesus said. “Tell them I am coming.”

  “Yes, Master,” said the man, who then returned to the darkness from which he came.

  Tom had heard the whole conversation and walked to Jesus. He saw the look on Jesus’s face and realized something wasn’t quite right. “We’re not going to Bethany, are we?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But you just told him—”

  “Mary is a strong woman. Do not worry about her.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Your eyes say enough.”

  “We can’t just let them wait,” Tom said, trying not to appear overly irritated.

  “Thomas, his sickness will not end in death. The glory will be to God when His son is glorified through it,” said Jesus.

  David approached Tom as Jesus returned to the fire. “What a load of crap!” Tom said in hushed English.

  David pulled Tom further away from the fire and listening ears.

  “Can you believe this?” Tom asked, returning to Aramaic.

  “I can believe lots of things.”

  “You’re not worried about Lazarus?”

  “No.”

  Tom scrutinized David’s face, looking for answers. Then his jaw dropped open as he came to a realization. “You know what’s going to happen. You know everything that’s going to happen. But you’re not just guessing, you actually know. Don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?” Tom wasn’t asking. He was demanding.

  “It’s all in the Bible.”

  “Tonight was in the Bible?”

  “Yes.”

  “And whatever it is that happens with Lazarus, you know the outcome?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great. Next you’re going to tell me there was a disciple named Tom in the Bible.”

  “Actually...”

  “Not funny.”

  “And I’m not joking, Thomas,” David said.

  “Thomas?”

  “That’s what you’re called in the Bible.”

  Tom’s jaw clenched shut for a moment, grinding his teeth. “David, really. This isn’t funny.”

  “Actually, I think you might be the only disciple in the Bible who actually had a nickname.”

  Tom stared at David, his mind racing with thoughts.

  “Do you know how your name translates into Greek?”

  Tom didn’t reply. He knew David was going to tell him.

  David smiled. “Didymus...remarkable coincidence. Now you see why it is so funny that they call you that. Not only did we look like twins, but your name translates to the Greek word for twin, Didymus.”

  Tom sat down. “I’m in the Bible?”

  David nodded happily. “And every Christian child has grown up hearing stories about you.”

  What David was saying made no sense, but Tom knew he wouldn’t lie about something like this. “That doesn’t make them true,” Tom said.

  “But it makes the Bible accurate.”

  Tom closed his eyes in thought, “What else do you know about me? About what’s going to happen?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why not?”

  “It might affect the decisions you make.”

  “You know what happens in the next week?”

  “Yes.”

  “A month from now?”

  “Yes.”

  “How I live? How I die?”

  “Tom—”

  “You know what happens to Mary?”

  David is thrown by the question. “I...no, I don’t.”

  Tom looked away, trying to hide any concerned look on his face that might give his feelings away. But it was too late. David noticed.

  “Tom, do you?” David asked suspiciously.

  Tom shook his head. “Don’t ask me how, but yes.”

  David couldn’t help but smile. He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “That’s great.”

  “Is it really?” Tom turned around and looked at the stars, trying desperately not to make eye contact with David.

  David stood next to Tom and gazed at the glowing night sky. “I promise you. There isn’t any other person alive today or tomorrow that Megan would be happier to see you with.”

  Tom smiled and glanced at David. “What about you?”

  “What do you mean?” David asked.

  “The woman who inexplicably holds your heart is two thousand years in the future.”

  David smiled, “A minute won’t pass for Sally. I’ve been gone for years,
but to her it will only be a minute.”

  “It’s hard to be away from someone you love for that long. I know.”

  David nodded. “I miss her smile. Granted, I only saw it a few times in all the years we’ve known her, but when I did...there was nothing better,” David said.

  “Well, maybe you’ll get to see her smile soon?”

  “Not soon enough,” David said. “Not soon enough.”

  * * * * *

  Sally grimaced behind her black scarf. This was not going well.

  “Raise your hands,” Sean demanded after Chuck had removed her backpack.

  Sally did as she was told. She didn’t want to incite these guys into pulling a trigger. Jake was still struggling to catch his breath as Sean ran to Jake and helped him to his feet. Jake struggled to speak. “What is it, sir?” Sean asked.

  Sally knew that if Jake regained the ability to talk he might give the order to shoot. She had to act fast. Sally moved her right hand subtly to her watch and began slowly pushing buttons.

  “It’s...It’s...” Jake was beginning to get out a sentence.

  Chuck emptied the backpack’s contents while keeping his gun raised at Sally’s head. Sally’s business suit, heels, nylons and I.D. badge fell out of the bag. She had planned to change into her normal clothes as soon as she made her getaway. She could have easily strolled comfortably back to her office. But that was no longer an option.

  Jake pointed toward Sally and said, “That’s...”

  “Director McField?” Chuck asked. He was holding her I.D. in his hand.

  Jake relaxed. They finally understood.

  “I think this guy broke into Director McField’s office too,” the guard said.

  Jake’s eyes bulged. “NO!” he shouted. “SHE’S... SHE’S...”

  Both guards stared at Jake. What was he trying to say? Jake’s eyes widened when he saw Sally lower her arms and reach for the gun. “SHOOT HER!” he screamed.

  Sally grabbed Chuck’s gun and quickly kneed him in the groin. Sally’s ears rang with pain as a gunshot ripped through the air. She felt the breeze created by the bullet as it passed her face and shattered several beakers. Sean aimed for a second shot, but Sally had begun moving before the shards of glass from the beakers hit the floor. She ran out the door, through the office and burst into the hallway.

  The elevator door directly across the hall opened up with a ding. A stunned guard struggled to draw his weapon as Sally skidded to a stop and ran down the hallway toward the stairwell. Two shots echoed through the hallway as Sean leapt from the office and took aim for a third.

  As Sally slammed through the stairwell door, a third bullet punctured the metal door behind her, just missing its mark. She scrambled up the stairs, covering two steps at a time. She had a plan. She thought it was stupid, but it was a plan nonetheless. The three guards, two running and Chuck limping, followed quickly, weapons ready to kill.

  Jake picked up the office phone and dialed three numbers. “Sir, it’s Jake... Better prep...all four. Spencer was right.... Sally’s gone crazy... I think she’s going back... Yeah... She’s got a watch.”

  Sally’s legs burned as she heaved up each flight of stairs. The men behind her were gaining, and if they caught her, would most likely kill her. She couldn’t let that happen. Sally slammed into a thick bulkhead and pushed. The doors were heavy, covered in sand and meant only for emergency use; only a select group of people knew they existed, and from the outside, they were invisible. An alarm sounded as soon as the first piece of daylight entered the stairwell.

  Pang! A bullet ricocheted off the stair Sally was standing on. The vibration caused by the bullet shot a tingling sensation up her leg. That was close. A few more seconds and she’d be dead. Sally grunted as she pushed the bulkhead open and ran into the blazing sun. The searing heat of the desert and blinding light of sun on golden sand was disorientating.

  Sally stumbled forward a few feet and covered her squinting eyes. She saw it just in time. She planted her feet firmly in the sand and leaned backward. Her toes protruded over a five hundred foot drop. Sally was teetering on the edge of oblivion.

  “Don’t move! Don’t move a freakin’ inch, lady!” the elevator guard shouted.

  “Turn around, nice and slow,” Sean said, as he inched toward her, keeping a watchful eye on the cliff.

  Sally turned around slowly, but did not move away from the cliff’s edge. She had to time this perfectly and make sure she didn’t get shot in the process.

  “Take off your mask,” demanded the elevator guard. “Take it off, now.”

  Sally punched one last button on the watch as she raised her hand to her scarf and unwrapped it. The guards took a step back when they saw Sally’s face. They had been shooting at their boss!

  “Sorry for the trouble, boys,” Sally said with a smile.

  She tossed the scarf at the guards, obscuring their view. By the time the skinny guard plucked the scarf out of the air, Sally had already jumped.

  “Director McField!” Sean shouted, as he reached out for her.

  All three men ran to the edge of the cliff and looked over. Sally was plummeting toward the ground. A light began to pulsate. With each flash it grew brighter and brighter, enveloping Sally’s body in a blaze of white. The three men jumped back as a sound like an explosion rose from below. They waited only a second before looking back over the cliff. And what they saw, they couldn’t believe. Sally was gone. No broken body. No stain of blood. She had vanished. Only a glowing cloud of blue particles remained, carried by the wind.

  “Holy... She’s…she’s gone!”

  “This must have something to do with that secret stuff they’ve been working on.”

  “Yeah, but where did she go?”

  “Not where did she go,” Jake said. “But when did she go?”

  As Jake finished his sentence, a tingling zap of energy coursed up through the sinews of his back and into his skull. He was suddenly filled with the knowledge of what he had to do next…and it was wonderful.

  The guards turned around and saw Jake standing in the bulkhead. He had a gun raised. “Sorry guys, but you’ve seen too much and we need to tidy up a bit.”

  Before any of them could react, Jake fired three shots.

  —SIXTEEN—

  Rise

  30A.D.

  3:12 P.M.

  Bethany, Israel

  Tom was miffed. Jesus knew Lazarus was sick, maybe even dying. While Tom in no way believed Jesus could heal Lazarus, he knew that they were friends and if Lazarus died, Jesus should be there. They all should be there. But they weren’t. Three days had passed before they set out that morning, headed for Bethany. Tom thought that Jesus might have waited the three days with the hopes that Lazarus would be feeling better by the time they arrived, thus negating the need for an actual miraculous healing.

  The hike toward Bethany had been quiet and tense. Tom was glad it was almost over. As the hillside home of Lazarus came into view, Tom’s heart sank. A crowd of people, maybe a hundred, was gathered around the home. And there was a noise...a wailing. Is everyone crying?

  Jesus stopped in his tracks and looked at the crowd. The disciples followed suit. Tom knew what this meant. He knew Lazarus was dead. And they hadn’t been here.

  As the fourteen moved forward again and approached the home, Martha burst from the crowd and stormed toward Jesus, consumed by rage. “Where were you?”

  Martha stopped in front of Jesus and punched his chest. “Where were you?”

  She punched Jesus’s chest and arms over and over, lessening the blow each time. “If you had been here earlier, Lazarus would not have died!”

  Tom shook his head at hearing Martha say the words, confirming Lazarus’s passing. This was madness.

  After putting his arms around Martha, Jesus pulled her close. She sobbed into Jesus’s chest as he ran his fingers through Martha’s hair. He held her tight until her muscles relaxed. Jesus loosened his grip on Martha and she wiped her eyes d
ry.

  “But...I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask,” Martha said with the voice of a desperate beggar.

  Jesus wiped a stray tear from Martha’s cheek and said, “Your brother will rise again.”

  “Yes, yes, I know, in the resurrection. On the last day,” Martha said, defeated.

  “Martha...I am the resurrection. I am the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives, and believes in me will never die... Do you believe this, Martha?”

  Martha’s eyes filled with liquid as she stared Jesus in the eyes. “Yes,” she said with a firm voice, “I believe you are the Christ, the very Son of God who has come into this world.”

  Martha heard her own words and looked suddenly worried. “Sorry I hit you.”

  Jesus smiled at Martha and asked, “Now, where is your sister? Where is Mary?”

  “Inside. I’ll get her.” Martha headed for the house.

  Appearing weakened by the strong emotions of Martha, Jesus sat at the base of a fig tree, while the disciples dispersed among the mass of mourners. Tom and David stood twenty feet from Jesus, watching the scene as though through a time portal. Tom thought David looked nervous. Did he know what was going to happen? Was he expecting trouble?

  Tom attempted to hypothesize about what David might be thinking, but found his own thoughts consumed by concern for Mary. He hadn’t seen her yet, and scanned the faces of the people who had gathered at the home.

  Like a lighthouse beckoning to a ship in the night, Mary emerged from within the sea of people and headed toward Jesus. Tom felt an incredible urge to run to her, to reach out and comfort her. But she was not coming to him. Why wasn’t she coming to him? Perhaps her feelings for him were temporary? Had he misread her interest? Tom swallowed hard at the thought and continued watching, his feet stuck to the ground like two branches frozen in ice.