eamer out of his holster before opening
the door.

The corridor was still dark. He stepped into it, alert for any sound
or movement that might mean danger or herald discovery. His
nervousness had given way to cool, detached determination. He almost
made it to the door before he heard the footsteps.

* * * * *

His reaction was unconscious and reflexive. He turned, leveling his
gun. He had passed the two doors light had shown under. One of them
was opening and Nelson saw the shadow of the man who had opened it;
then the man. The man saw Nelson at about the same time and stood
gaping at him. Without realizing that he had fired, Nelson felt the
recoil of the gun; the roar of the beam against the close walls hurt
his ears, parts of the wall blistered and buckled, other parts of it
charred black, some parts vaporizing in thin patches. The patrolman
had flared instantly, never really knowing what had hit him. Smoke and
heavy odors filled the corridor as Nelson slid out into the open. The
patrol depots were fireproof, but the area Nelson had blasted would be
far to hot to pass through for the rest of the night.

Nelson toned down the volume of his beamer and fired at a fence post.
The tough plastic burst into splinters with a sudden explosion. A
snapping wire whipped to within inches of Nelson's face but he didn't
have to think about it. He was running up the hillside a short while
later--he had lost track of time as such--hoping that Glynnis would
use her gun if any patrolmen were following him.

He reached the hilltop in darkness, afraid to use his flashlight.
Suddenly, he stumbled; was falling over something soft, like an animal
or a man. Cursing low and involuntarily, he managed to roll over so
that he fell on his back. He saw the form, a patch of irregular
blackness in the darkness around him and knew it for a body. He got to
his feet glancing around, not knowing what this meant. He bent over
the form, keeping the furnace beam's muzzle only a few inches from
it, but too far back to be grabbed suddenly. He couldn't see the man's
clothing very plainly but he could tell it was a patrolman's uniform.
Nelson reached down to feel for a heartbeat and drew his hand away
sticky with what he knew must be blood. Nelson was shaken for a
moment; but he put aside the strange kinship he so often felt for
patrolmen because they were also wakers and drew back, peering round
into the darkness, pretty ce