p to the sky. Under Jason's feet the
earth shifted and moved. _Something_ black and long stirred in the heart
of the flame, then arched up into the sky over their heads. In the midst
of the searing heat it still moved with alien, jolting motions. It was
immense, at least two meters thick and with no indication of its length.
The flames didn't stop it at all, just annoyed it.

Jason had some idea of the thing's length as the street cracked and
buckled for fifty meters on each side of the pit. Great loops of the
creature began to emerge from the ground. He fired his gun, as did the
others. Not that it seemed to have any effect. More and more people were
appearing, armed with a variety of weapons. Flame-throwers and grenades
seemed to be the most effective.

"_Clear the area ... we're going to saturate it. Fall back._"

The voice was so loud it jarred Jason's ear. He turned and recognized
Kerk, who had arrived with truckloads of equipment. He had a power
speaker on his back, the mike hung in front of his lips. His amplified
voice brought an instant reaction from the crowd. They began to move.

There was still doubt in Jason's mind what to do. Clear the area? But
what area? He started towards Kerk, before he realized that the rest of
the Pyrrans were going in the opposite direction. Even under two
gravities they _moved_.

Jason had a naked feeling of being alone on the stage. He was in the
center of the street, and the others had vanished. No one remained.
Except the wounded man Jason had helped. He stumbled towards Jason,
waving his good arm. Jason couldn't understand what he said. Kerk was
shouting orders again from one of the trucks. They had started to move
too. The urgency struck home and Jason started to run.

It was too late. On all sides the earth was buckling, cracking, as more
loops of the underground thing forced its way into the light. Safety lay
ahead. Only in front of it rose an arch of dirt-encrusted gray.

* * * * *

There are seconds of time that seem to last an eternity. A moment of
subjective time that is grabbed and stretched to an infinite distance.
This was one of those moments. Jason stood, frozen. Even the smoke in
the sky hung unmoving. The high-standing loop of alien life was before
him, every detail piercingly clear.

Thick as a man, ribbed and gray as old bark. Tendrils projected from all
parts of it, pallid and twisting lengths that writhed slowly with
sn