Chapter 40

They had stopped Samnom on the road and demanded his money. He had given it to them but when they had started talking about taking his clothes, Samnom realized he was in danger.

They attacked him from behind and beat him with a club. Samnom went down and was soon being beaten and kicked by all five thugs. At some point everything went black. The pain of the blows faded as did the noise. It was as if he had drifted far away from the place on the road. He thought he must be dying. Somewhere in the black cocoon that enveloped him the shouts and cries of his attackers took on a different dimension. They became screams of terror.

Somewhere in the blackness, the blows and the pain stopped. The screams of terror subsided and silence ensued. The black fog cleared and Samnom looked around him. Five bodies lay twisted and broken around him on the road.

Samnom looked around for someone else. A helper? He still doubted his abilities. Had he really done this? There was no-on