Chapter Seventeen
There was no trouble with the guards. Whole families of mutants werestreaming out of the city, seeking the protection of the mountains untilthe frenzy of the Hunt was over. Barrent attached himself to one ofthese groups, and soon he found himself a mile past Tetrahyde, in thelow foothills that curled in a semicircle around the city.
The mutants stopped here and made their camp. Barrent went on, and bymidnight he was starting up the rocky, windswept slope of one of thehigher mountains. He was hungry, but the cool, clear air wasexhilarating. He began to believe that he really would live through theHunt.
He heard a noisy group of Hunters making a sweep around the mountain. Heavoided them easily in the darkness, and continued climbing. Soon therewas no sound except the steady rush of wind across the cliffs. It wasperhaps two in the morning; only three more hours until dawn.
In the small hours of the morning it began to rain, lightly at first,then in a cold torrent. This was predictable weather for Omega.Predictable also were the towering thunderheads that formed over themountains, the rolling thunder, and the vivid yellow flashes oflightning. Barrent found shelter in a shallow cave, and counted himselflucky that the temperature had not yet plunged.
He sat in the cave, half-dozing, the remnants of his makeup running downhis face, keeping a sleepy watch over the slope of the mountain belowhim. Then, in the brilliant illumination of a lightning flash, he sawsomething moving up the slope, heading directly toward his cave.
He stood up, the needlebeam ready, and waited for another lightningflash. It came, and now he could see the cold, wet gleam of metal, aflashing of red and green lights, a pair of metal tentacles taking gripson the rocks and small shrubs of the mountainside.
It was a machine similar to the one Barrent had fought in the cellars ofthe Department of Justice. Now he knew what Rend had wanted to warn himabout. And he could see why few of the Hunted escaped, even if they gotbeyond the city itself. This time, Max would not be operating at randomto make a more equal contest out of it. And there would be no exposedfuse box.
As Max came within range, Barrent fired. The blast bounced harmlesslyoff the machine's armored hide. Barrent left the shelter of his cave andbegan to climb.
The machine came steadily behind him, up the treacherous wet face of themountain. Barrent tried to lose it on a plateau of jagged boulders, butMax couldn't be shaken. Barrent realized that the machine must befollowing a scent of some kind; probably it was keyed to follow theindelible paint on Barrent's face.
On a steep face of the mountain, Barrent rolled boulders onto themachine, hoping he could start an avalanche. Max dodged most of theflying rocks, and let the rest bounce off him, with no visible effect.
At last Barrent was backed into a narrow, steep-sided angle of cliff. Hewas unable to climb any higher. He waited. When the machine loomed overhim, he held the needlebeam against its metal hide and held down thetrigger.
Max shuddered for a moment under the impact of the needlebeam's fullcharge. Then it brushed the weapon away and wrapped a tentacle aroundBarrent's neck. The metal coils tightened. Barrent felt himself losingconsciousness. He had time to wonder whether the coils would stranglehim or break his neck.
Suddenly the pressure was gone. The machine had backed away a few feet.Past it, Barrent could see the first gray light of dawn.
He had lived through the Hunt. The machine was not programmed to killhim after dawn. But it wouldn't let him go. It kept him captive in thenarrow angle of the cliff until the Hunters came.
They brought Barrent back to Tetrahyde, where a wildly applauding crowdgave him a hero's welcome. After a two-hour procession, Barrent and fourother survivors were taken to the office of the Awards Committee. TheChairman made a short and moving speech about the skill and courage eachhad shown in surviving the Hunt. He gave each of them the rank of Hadji,and presented them with the tiny golden earrings which showed theirstatus.
At the end of the ceremony, the Chairman wished each of the new Hadjisan easy death in the Games.