The Day Before Tomorrow Read Online Free PDF Page B

they were trying to be quiet, more likely it was burglars. 
    Tamar slipped her robe on and went downstairs.  Nobody could move as silently as Tamar when she wanted to; thus she took the intruders by surprise. 
    There were two of them, a man and a woman with bright blonde hair, who stood wringing her hands while the man calmly emptied the safe. 
    Tamar thought swiftly and matched her actions to her thoughts.  She picked up a heavy lamp and brought it down on the man’s head with a crack.  The woman screamed.  The man, although dazed, got to his feet (It’s a lot harder to knock someone out than Hollywood would have you believe) and glared menacingly at Tamar.  He raised his fist, but Tamar was quicker, she spun low and kicked his legs from under him, then kicked him in the head where he lay on the rug.  He subsided.  The scream that the woman had let out had evidently alerted an accomplice of some sort, who had come in by the open patio doors, for Tamar found herself grabbed from behind by strong arms.  Her arms were pinned to her side.  Instead of struggling futilely, she allowed herself to go limp.  The man loosened his grip almost imperceptibly, upon which, Tamar threw her head back violently, breaking the man’s nose.  As he raised his arm instinctively to his face, he freed Tamar’s right arm, and she slammed her fist into his crotch, and he doubled over, as you might expect.  She spun fast and kicked again, she hit him in the ribs; it made a horrible sound like a butcher chopping meat.  Then she rained blows on him anywhere she could reach face, ribs, whatever.  The man was on his knees now, covering his head with his hands.  Only when he fell sideways silently, did Tamar stop shocked and confused. How had she done that, when had she learned to fight that way?  She had no time to wonder, she turned and glared at the woman who looked – it could not be relieved?  It must be the light in here.  The dawn was breaking fully now, and, through the deep window space, the room was lit by a dreary half-light.  Tamar and the woman stared at each other in shock now, each for their own reasons, which were very different. 
    Eventually the woman spoke.  ‘They made me do it,’ she said.  ‘Please don’t hurt me.’
    Tamar nodded.  ‘Who are you?’
    ‘My name’s Cindy.’ 
    Tamar nodded again. ‘I – I know,’ she muttered.  How did she know?
    She rallied. ‘All right, all right,’ she said ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’  She glanced out of the window at a sound from the garden.  ‘They might though,’ she added gesturing outside. 
    Cindy followed her gaze.  The garden was full of soldiers. 
    * * *
    Denny opened his eyes and looked straight into the eyes of Captain Stiles, who smiled at him.  There it was again, that feeling of a memory half grasped, slipping away; it was terribly frustrating.  He had to get to the bottom of this.
     ‘Nice to have you back son,’ Stiles said. 
    Denny blinked, the captain was adorned about the head with a sparkling white bandage and Denny himself was lying in a fairly comfortable bed.  He put it together.  He checked his extremities; they all seemed to be intact although he was badly burned here and there.  He reached up to his face. 
    ‘Don’t worry son,’ laughed the captain, ‘you’re still beautiful.’
    ‘Blimey, they really can do miracles these days,’ grinned Denny.
     ‘It’s a good job I was here, you know,’ said Stiles ‘I had a hell of a job getting you transferred.  You seem to have lost your dog tags.  Very careless, soldier.’ 
    Denny groaned. ‘Morris had them. It was stupid really. He thought they might bring him luck.  I guess it didn’t work.  – What?’
     Stiles was frowning at him in consternation.  ‘Morris had your dog tags on?’ he asked.
     ‘Yes sir.  Look I know it was a stupid thing …’
    ‘And Morris is dead?’
    ‘Yes sir, I …’
    ‘Wearing your dog tags?’  He waited for