en a mongrel
with a flat head and large teeth. He had smiled at that animal as he was
doing now. The dog had sensed his fear in spite of the smile.

Loren was standing up slowly, and the animal's head swayed in slow
circling motions.

"All right?" Loren said.

Kirk glanced at the man, saw the wild, nearly vacant look of the face,
the polite tilt of the head. Kirk's palms were wet. Goddamn it, he
thought, and he stood up suddenly.

The animal extended a claw, slowly, turning it so that it seemed to wind
and circle as it came toward Kirk.

"_Eddie_," Loren said.

The claw came away. Kirk caught his breath.

"Shall we go?" Loren said, his eyes shining.

"Yes," Kirk said. "We'll go, Harry." He turned slowly, so that his back
was to Loren and the animal. He thought about the comb-like claws and
the scar on Loren's back. He thought about Loren's knife and about the
pistol.

He wanted to look back as he walked. He wanted to talk, to hear Loren's
answer and so know just where he was. More than anything he wanted to
break into a run and get into that rocket and get out of here.

He could see the gleam of the rocket finally, but he didn't look back
yet. He kept moving. As he got closer he could see Leo, standing near
the base of the ship, tall, leaning carelessly against the silver
surface, smoking. He wanted to shout to Leo, to tell him for God's sake
to wake up and protect him.

They reached the edge of the clearing and Leo, whose careless body had
stiffened, waited motionless, one hand on his pistol. Kirk stopped.
"There it is, Harry," he said, not turning around. "There's the ship."
He waited, half-closing his eyes, breathing slowly.

There was no sound.

"That's Leo, my friend, Harry," Kirk said, putting his palms flat
against his thighs. "Your friend, Harry."

Leo, Kirk could see, was still frozen, his eyes slitted to narrow
brightness. Kirk began to step into the clearing. "Hello, there, Leo,"
he said, his voice a tense, grating sound. "I've brought some friends."

Leo was lifting his pistol out of its holster, inchingly.

"_Friends_," Kirk rasped.

Leo's thin eyes flickered and the pistol slid back into the holster.

Kirk turned around slowly, and he saw that Loren had stopped just inside
the clearing. The animal remained beside him, its head making its slow
circles. Loren was staring up at the rocket and the sun reflecting from
the bright surface, came down and shown on Loren's face, deepening the