Chaos Theory by Graham Masterton Page A

past the bathing hut and into the woods. After a few yards, however, he stopped.
    ‘You go that way,’ he panted, pointing off to the right. ‘Keep on running, fast as you can.’
    ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘I’ll be looking after you. I promise.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘Go, Adeola – I won’t let you down.’ He gave her the briefest kiss on the cheek and then he said, ‘ Go! ’
    She started to run along the narrow, zigzag path that led between the trees. The path was stony and wet and tangled with roots, and Adeola’s ankles were lashed by stinging nettles, but she bounded along it like a hunted deer. She could hear herself gasping as she ran, almost as if somebody else were running beside her.
    The path climbed steeply, and then descended again. She saw water gleaming through the trees ahead of her, and realized that she had reached the far side of the island. She came out beside a wide tributary of the main Kenmare river, over fifty yards wide. Its surface was circled with raindrops. On the opposite bank there was another island, with more woods.
    She looked to her right, and saw that there was a narrow dam connecting the two islands, about a hundred yards upstream.
    She was just about to start running again when an unfamiliar voice called out, ‘ Stop! ’
    She turned around. A man in khaki camouflage was walking briskly towards her. He was quite slightly built, with a shaven head and a neat black beard. He had a narrow, hawk-like face and close-set eyes. He was carrying a rifle with a very long barrel and telescopic sights.
    ‘Stop, please,’ he said. ‘There is no profit in your trying to run any further. I will catch you.’
    Adeola stayed where she was, her heat drumming, her chest rising and falling.
    ‘You will kneel, and you will close your eyes,’ said the man.
    ‘Oh, you think so?’ said Adeola, her voice shaking. ‘You’ve just shot two of my friends, you bastard.’
    ‘You will kneel, and you will close your eyes,’ the man repeated.
    ‘And if I won’t?’
    ‘Then I will have to kill you standing up, with your eyes wide open. That is all. But it is better for you if you kneel, and close your eyes.’
    ‘Have you ever heard the expression “fuck you”?’
    ‘You should not die with an obscenity on your lips. You should die with a prayer for forgiveness for all of your transgressions.’
    He came closer, and lifted his rifle. Adeola was surprised to see how young he was. Twenty-four, twenty-five, not much older than that.
    ‘Who are you?’ she asked him.
    ‘You do not need to know that. You are going to die anyway.’
    ‘What’s your name? At least you can tell me your name.’
    ‘You do not need to know my name.’
    From the trees on the other side of the river, two or three crows flapped up, cawing harshly. Adeola thought of what Rick had assured her: I’ll be looking after you. I promise . She looked back at the young man with the rifle and she said, ‘All right, then, I’ll kneel and close my eyes, if it makes your job any easier.’
    ‘This is not personal hatred,’ said the young man. ‘I have no ill-feeling for you as a woman.’
    ‘That’s good to know. I’d hate to think you were going to kill me out of petty spite.’
    ‘Please,’ he said, gesturing with his rifle.
    Adeola slowly knelt on the ground. It was soaking wet, peaty, and slippery with layers of half-decomposed leaves.
    ‘And, please, close your eyes.’
    She closed her eyes, but then almost immediately opened them again.
    ‘I want to see your expression when you kill me,’ she said.
    The young man looked disconcerted. It suddenly occurred to Adeola that he might have shot plenty of people at long distance, but never face to face.
    ‘You should close your eyes,’ he insisted.
    ‘No, I’m not going to. When I get to the other side, I want to find your ancestors, and I want to tell them exactly what you looked like, when you murdered an innocent woman.’
    ‘You should close your eyes!’ he