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In their lives, they had been s Then they were another Now they were an arht, then in blackness, beneath the Texas stars, they roared west, a wall of noise and dust At the head of the pod, like the point of a spear, a pair of riders led the way For Alicia, the sensation was one of pureled, joined to a pri was one of expansion, an internal a of souls The moment Carter had surrendered his forces to her command, they had ceased to be external entities They had become extensions of her awareness and her will: her Many

Come with hts upon a distant shore, the besieged city appeared

--

"Weapons up!"

All along the catwalk, the snap ofinto chaloo line appeared to the east Second by second it thickened, spreading over the land A feeling of fate, of destiny: it hung like a fog The city seeer in its face

"Here they come!"

The horde rumbled toward them Its speed was tremendous Random shots split the air--e to fire their weapons

Peter pressed the radio to his e!"

The stars were disappearing, blotted out by the great dust cloud that ascended in the virals’ wake The pod had taken the forotiation phase is over," Apgar said

More panicked shots; the pod kept co it like a bull’s-eye

"Hang on a second," Apgar said He atching through binoculars "So?"

He hesitated, then said, "They’restrides in between, like the older ones do" He pulled the lenses away "I think these are dopeys"

So

Fro platform, a cry went up: "Riders! Two hundred yards!"

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Prepare yourselves

Amy slowed Soldier to a canter, then a trot