corridor wall. The hand continued to flail around, hunting for him, as the door jerked down, down. At the last instant the foreleg withdrew.

There was silence in the corridor.

It took him a long moment to find his voice and when he did, what emerged was little more than a terrified whimper.

?Door 3, channel F. Shut…I hope.?

Morse didn’t hear him as he continued to stumble blindly down his own corridor. ?Kevin? Gregor? Where the fuck are you? Where is everybody? K, L, M, all locked and secured.?He glanced at a plate set into the wall. ?I’m back in A.?

In a side passageway Gregor was likewise counting panels. ?Channel V secure. Channel P holding.?

Behind him William struggled to keep pace. ?Did you say P or D??he shouted. ?For fuck’s sake-?

Gregor turned without stopping. ?Shut the fuck up! Move!?

Unsure of his position, Kevin discovered that he’d doubled back on himself. ?Shit. I’m in R. That’s safe. That’s safe. Isn’t it??

Jude overheard, raised his voice so his companion could hear. ?You forgot, man. R leads back into F. I’m moving through F right now. Gonna shut it down.?

Disoriented, Troy halted at an intersection. He’d moved too fast, ignoring the map and trusting to memory. Now he found himself appraising the multiple tunnels uncertainly.

?Channel F? Where the fuck-There ain’t no fuckin’ Channel F.?

He moved forward, hesitated, and chose the corridor to his immediate right, instead. 204

Alan Dean Foster

That corridor, however, was already occupied by another frustrated inhabitant.

Dillon and Ripley heard the distant screams. As usual, the screams didn’t last for very long.

?Morse??Dillon called out. ?Kevin, Gregor??

Ripley strained to see past him. ?What’s going on back there??

The big man glanced tensely back at her. ?All they have to do is run down the damn corridors.?He hefted his axe and started forward. ?Stay here.?

The side corridor from which they expected their visitor remained deserted. No alien. No people. Only distant, echoing voices, some distinctly panicky.

Behind him, Eric voiced his thoughts aloud. ?Where in hell is it??Dillon just glanced at him.

Sucking up his courage, David moved back to the door and peered through the small window. The corridor beyond was empty. He raised his voice.

?I’ve lost him. Don’t know where the fucking thing is. Not gonna open the door. I think it went up in the fucking air vent.?He turned slowly to inspect the single air vent in the tunnel above him.

He was right.