The Time Travelers' Club -- Chapter 116: The Real Killer

Meanwhile, Tinean had Rose and Sam cornered between two stalagmites. There was no place for them to run.  Tinean reached for his knife from his boot. It was gone.  He reached under his coat and pulled another one out from the holster strapped under arm. "Which one first? You or you?"  He pointed to Rose then Sam then back to Rose.

Dreda stood behind him, grinning at Rose. Her anger towards the Club over the death of her husband grew to full force.  "Ha!  Doesn't really matter about her.  The Doctor wants the boy.  I'll take care of him."

"Stop this!" Rose pleaded with Dreda. Seeing that her pleas made no difference, Rose took a different strategy. "So Tinean is this the way it was when you killed Pavel? Did you use that exact knife?"

Tinean snickered. "I don't know what you're talking about, my dear."

"You know what I'm talking about," said Rose. "Pavel, Dreda's husband. Was he easy to kill?"

Dreda took a few steps closer. "Don't listen to her. One of them killed my Pavel. They should be the ones to pay."

Tinean snickered again. "Don't worry. They will." Still waving the knife back and forth, he stared right into Rose's eyes.

Rose stared back "You can't kill a woman. You only have the ability to kill men. Just like you killed Pavel. I bet it was easy to kill him.  Or did he put up a fight?"

Tinean became annoyed by her accusations. "Shut up!"

"You did it, didn't you? You kill only men. Not women or children. Only men. Just like you killed Pavel." Rose didn't stop, not breaking eye-contact with Tinean. "How did you do it? I bet he was easy to kill. You don't have the guts to kill us. Just my brother-in-law. He's probably the only one you've ever killed."

"Shut up, I say." Tinean blinked hard, still waving the knife. Dreda stepped even closer.

"Ah, you haven't killed anyone else have you? Have you?" Rose spoke forcefully.  Sam still stood behind her, watching Tinean whose eyes began to dart back and forth between her and Sam. He also swayed a little. "Come on, Tinean; tell us how you did it. If you even did. You probably didn't even kill him. You couldn't kill anyone. Not even Pavel. You just want people to think you did..."

"Shut up! Shut it! He wasn't my only one..." Tinean stopped.  His mouth hung open in mid-sentence. Dreda gasped and stepped back.  Like a wave, it hit her.  She had been lied to by Dr. Herkeimer.  Her mind flashed back to the day she first met him.

“I can tell you who killed him,” Dr. Herkeimer had said.  He stood between two headstones staring down at Dreda.  She sat in front of Pavel’s fresh grave and looked up at the Doctor.  He smiled.

“He was killed by the group of time travelers that your parents belonged to.  He had discovered a plot against the world.  They had to kill him.”

She had believed him then.  Now, she heard Tinean clearly.  She realized what had happened to her while grief-stricken.  She had made a wrong choice without asking any questions.

Finally, she came back to the present moment.  Tinean was confused for a moment, before realizing what he had just confessed.

“Dr. Herkeimer lied.  He lied to me about everything.  The Time Travelers.  The plot against the world.  All lies.” Dreda stepped back from him.  “You killed my Pavel.  You did it.  I have been tricked.”  From that point, all her anger turned to Tinean.  He turned to glance at her, then back to Rose.

In a low grumbling voice, Dreda accented each word.  “You are a dead man.”

Rose reached around and grabbed Sam, pulling him close to her side away from Tinean.  Dreda forced Tinean to face her by stepping in between him and Rose.

“You take Sam and go,” said Dreda without turning away from Tinean.  She motioned for them to go.  Tinean’s eyes now darted back and forth between Dreda and Rose.  Dreda was ready for a fight.  A fight for revenge.  She had found the man who had killed her husband.  Rose held onto Sam.  She turned around and guided him away from Dreda and Tinean.

“You are a liar!” shouted Dreda. “Prepare to meet the devil.  Hell is waiting for you.”

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, my sweet.”  Tinean was smug, pointing his knife at her.  “I’ll enjoy slitting your throat.”  They faced one another about ten feet apart, waiting for the other to make a move.

Tinean made the first lunge. Dreda jumped to one side as Tinean stumbled forward.  Dreda punched him in the side.  Dropping his knife, Tinean grunted falling with a thud.  She kicked him in his other side then straddled him on his back.  She grabbed the hair on the back of his head and slammed his face into the cave’s stone floor.  Tinean wrestled to get her off his back, sending her backwards as he forced himself up.

“You bitch!  You’ll pay for that.” Tinean leapt up.   Dreda backed away as he spun around.  “You’re gonna get it.  Just like your sweet hubby.”

Dreda felt her rage boil. She flew at him and pushed him against the stone wall.   He wailed in pain as she punched him repeatedly in his gut.  Tinean managed to grab her and threw her against a stalagmite. She slumped to the ground.

“Now my dear.  It’s time to join your husband in sweet repose.”  Tinean searched the ground for his knife.  Just as he reached down for it, a foot landed on the handle.  It was Ari.

“I don’t think so.” Ari grabbed Tinean, lifted him up, and tossed him into the pool.  Tinean bobbed a few times, grabbing anything to get up.