The Road to Nightfall

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The dog snarled, and ran on. Katterson watched the two lean, fiery-eyed men speeding in pursuit, while a mounting horror grew in him and rooted him to the spot. The dog suddenly bounded over a heap of rubble and was gone; its pursuers sank limply down, leaning on their clubs, and tried to catch their breath.

“It’s going to get much worse than this,” said a small, grubby-looking man who appeared from nowhere next to Katterson. “I’ve heard the official announcement’s coming today, but the rumor’s been around for a long time.”

“So they say,” answered Katterson slowly. The chase he had just witnessed still held him paralyzed. “We’re all pretty hungry.”

The two men who had chased the dog got up, still winded, and wandered off. Katterson and the little man watched their slow retreat.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen people doing that,” said Katterson. “Out in the open like that—”

“It won’t be the last time,” said the grubby man. “Better get used to it, now that the food’s gone.”

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