Jayewardene took his place in front of the truck. The ape's breathing was irregular. He turned. The ape's eyes fluttered and opened. Its pupils were dilated. The eyes moved about slowly, looked at the cameras, and stopped at Robyn. They became bright and purposeful. Jayewardene felt his skin go cold.
The ape took a deep breath and roared, a sound like a hundred lions. Jayewardene started to run but tripped over somebody who'd reacted away from the ape and into him.
The ape was rocking back and forth on the truck. One of the tires blew out. The monster continued to roar and pull at the chains. Jayewardene struggled to his feet. He heard the high-pitched squeal of metal straining against metal, then a loud pinging noise as the chains snapped. Steel shrapnel from the broken chains flew in all directions. One piece hit a guard. The man fell, screaming. Jayewardene ran to the man and helped him to his feet. The ground was shaking right behind them. He turned to look back, but the ape was already past them. Jayewardene turned to the injured man.
"Broken rib, I think. Maybe two," said the guard through gritted teeth. "I'll be okay."
A woman screamed. Jayewardene left the man and rushed ahead. He could see most of the ape over the tin tops of the portable buildings. It bent down and picked up something in its right hand. It was Robyn. He heard a gunshot and tried to move faster. His sides ached already.
The ape snatched up a tent and threw it at one of the guards, whose rifle was raised for another shot. The canvas drifted down over the man, spoiling his aim.
"No. No," Jayewardene yelled. "You might hit the woman." The monster looked over the camp briefly, then waved its free arm disdainfully at the humans and shouldered into the jungle. Robyn Symmes was limp and pale against the huge darkness of its chest.
Danforth sat on the ground, head in hands. "Oh, shit. What the hell do we do now. This wasn't supposed to happen. Those chains were made of titanium steel. It can't be happening."
Jayewardene put his hand on the producer's shoulder. "Mr. Danforth, I'll need your fastest car and your best driver. And it might be better if you came along with us."
Danforth looked up. "Where are we going?"
"Back to Colombo. A group of your aces is arriving there in a few hours." He smiled thinly. "Long ago our island was called Serendib. The land of fortunate coincidence."
"Thank god. There's a chance then." He stood up, the color returning to his face. "I'll get things moving."
"Need any help?" Paula dabbed at a cut over her eye with her shirtsleeve.
"Only all I can get," Danforth said.
The ape roared again. It already seemed impossibly far away.
The car sped along down the road, jolting them at every bump and pothole. They were still a few miles outside Ratnapura. Jayewardene was in the front seat, directing the driver. Paula and Danforth sat silently in the back. As they rounded a corner, he saw several saffron-robed Buddhist priests ahead. "Stop," he yelled as the driver braked the car. They went into a skid and off the road, sliding to a stop. The priests, who had been working on the dirt road with shovels, stood to one side and motioned them through.
"Who are they?" asked Paula.
"Priests. Members of an appropriate technologist group," Jayewardene said as the driver pulled back onto the road. He bowed to the priests as he went past. "Much of their time is spent doing such work."
He planned to call ahead from Ratnapura. Let the government know the situation and discourage the military from attacking the creature. That would be difficult, given the amount of damage it could cause. Tachyon and the aces would be the answer. They had to be. His stomach burned. It was dangerous to hinge his plans on people he'd never met, but he had no other choice.
"I wonder what set him off?" Danforth asked, his voice almost too soft to hear.
"Well"-Jayewardene turned to speak to them-"he looked at the cameras, then at Miss Symmes. It was as if something clicked in his brain, brought him right out of the stupor."
"If anything happens to her, it'll be my fault." Danforth looked at the muddy floorboard. "My fault."
"Then we'll all have to work hard to make sure nothing does happen to her," Paula said. "Okay?"
"Right," Danforth said weakly.
"Remember," she said, patting his shoulder. "It's beauty that kills the beast. Not