Show LAST WT REFUGE A short story aby dy RICHARD HILL WILI LInSON BY AN inexorable URGED FEAR the man in the th cino canoe paddled with feverish hate haste downstream str tarn always downstream into the north ha he pointed the nose 0 of the trail frail craft A murderer an outlaw seeking safety in the unknown at non neon he be topped stopped and boiled tea the minute be the water was warm he extinguished the ibe fire squatting he munched jerked meat and sipped his hi tepid liquid ilia ills eye eyes bloodshot blood pit like kept constant ach of the river presently Pree nUy he wai was once more in the canoe heading north driven by the lime same unrelenting lentine tear fear gradually the trees gave way to shrubs arub and then the shrubs to infrequent clump clumps of growth he had reached the barren lands the barren land far away north of timber bleak desolate forbidding an undulating desert J t nothing subconsciously he knew he be was starving the thought brauchi a wild hyst erial laugh to his ups up neet ne ot of huge boulder boulders and grey mois moss and little patches of willows nestling la in the hollow hollows of the hill hills the man beached his canoe boiled more tea crawled under the overturned craft and tried to sleep but his slumber was fitful broken despite his exhausted condition fatigue ra tigue mental torment had h a d could escape seeking sr a refuge whose existence be b doubted vaguely he hoped to find food belter shelter warmth and peace yet only vaguely uppermost la in his hi mind was a B single thought Es E capet capel nihal at dawn down he awoke and let set out without breakfast and now his eyes held a terrified do demon mon like alk look Utter fatigue gave him a hid ous ou adish appearance at noon he h flopped stopped and ate ai sv sav acely arely ravenously an hour later he found that travel by canoe was no longer possible he lie P pa boned it made a pack and slur up hi djs a back staggered ahead on foot elrre pasted passed how long the man had no idea he lie awoke with a tart start sitting bolt upright his eyes eye wildly staring about out in every direction the land lay bleak and deserted it wa was still daylight the sun un till still hung above the horlein horl zin the man roie rose and shouldered his pack and tumbled stumbled ahead throaty mutter ings lne came caine from hla his tip lips there was nothing about the expression in fils hl bloodshot eyes that spoke of sanity or rational thinking an hour later involuntarily he stopped knelt down near a great rock and opened his pack ravenously he attacked the one remaining piece of jerked meat subconsciously ly he knew that he was star v ing the thought brought a wi wild id r hysterical laugh to his tips lips he staggered to his feet kicked aside the pack laughed again and went on instinctively heading north ward toward night daylight the sun grinning merrily pale and dim just above the horizon the man paused his head cocked ludicrously to his can ears bad corn come a sound the dull moaning the eternal breaking of surf against a rocky shore A rasping sob escaped bis his throat he lunged ahead tumbled stumbled down an embankment stood swaying on a rocky beach he bad reached the end of the barren lands ahead there was nothing but a grey unlimited dotted by iceberg icebergs |