Mists of Dawn (76 page)

For
the
rest
of
his
life.
That
might
not
be
very
long.

But
the
paralyzing
fear
abated
slightly,
and
he
saw that
the
half-men
were
not
gaining
on
them.
Actually, it
was
easier
this
time
than
it
had
been
before.
He was
in
far
better
condition,
he
was
not
alone,
and
the world
was
no
longer
so
strange
to
him
as
it
had
once been.
But
all
that
would
be
scant
comfort
if
that
snarling
pack
of
man-things
ever
caught
up
with
them, and
catch
them
they
would,
eventually,
unless
Tlax-can
knew
his
stuff.

Tlaxcan
had
no
breath
to
waste
in
talking.
However,
sensing
his
friend’s
thoughts,
he
managed
a
quick smile
of
reassurance
that
picked
Mark
up
amazingly. Mark
knew
that
if
anyone
could
get
them
through,
it was
Tlaxcan.
That,
of
course,
was
the
question—
could
anyone?

Mark
stopped
thinking.
He
realized
that
Tlaxcan knew
the
country
better
than
he
could
ever
know
it, and
his
job
was
simply
to
follow
his
lead.
Mark
was intelligent
enough
to
recognize
a
real
leader
when
he saw
one,
and
he
did
not
foolishly
try
to
exert
his
own influence
in
a
situation
he
was
not
equipped
to
deal with.
And
he
did
not
want
to
think
about
the
snarling
half-men
behind
him;
above
all
things
he
must not
permit
his
muscles
to
become
constricted
with
fear. In
New
Mexico,
he
had
once
seen
a
bird
frozen
with fear
at
the
sight
of
a
snake
slithering
toward
it.
All the
bird
had
to
do
was
to
fly
away,
but
it
simply could
not
move.
It
stood
rooted
to
the
spot,
staring, until
it
no
longer
had
eyes
with
which
to
see.

Mark
tried
to
imagine
that
this
was
just
a
race
he was
running,
a
cross-country
marathon.
He
kept
his eyes
on
Tlaxcan’s
broad
back
and
matched
him
step for
step.
He
was
dimly
aware
that
night
had
fallen, and
he
was
seeing
by
starlight.
He
felt
the
grass
under his
feet
turn
to
rock
as
they
raced
into
the
mountains, and
he
was
conscious
that
the
grunting
snarls
of
the Neanderthals
were
fading
behind
him.

Finally,
there
was
only
the
pounding
of
their
own feet,
the
dry
gasping
of
their
own
breathing.
They were
alone—they
had
shaken
them!
Tlaxcan
stopped, and
Mark
sat
down
to
catch
his
wind.
Tlaxcan
instantly
pulled
him
to
his
feet.

“Do
not
be
a
fool,
my
friend,”
he
panted.
“One does
not
escape
from
the
Mroxor
so
simply.
The
night has
confused
them
for
a
moment,
that
is
all.”

Mark
shook
his
head,
ashamed
of
his
own
stupidity. “That
is
what
happens
when
you
turn
off
your
mind,” he
apologized.
“What
do
we
do
now?”

“We
build
a
fire,”
Tlaxcan
answered
surprisingly, “and
we
do
it
fast.”