_Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat--_ Zen had heard this death-dealing rattle too often to mistake its identity. "A sub-machine gun!" The drapes that covered the archway leading into this hidden room were shoved aside. A man fell through them. Zen knew at a glance that he was another of the kids who lived here in this hidden cavern inside a mountain. Blood was spewing from a hole in his back and he was fighting desperately for breath. "They're--coming with guns!" he gasped. West dropped to his knees and took the head of the youth in his lap. His face was dark as he saw the wound on the back. Cuddling the youth's head in his lap as one would a frightened child, he asked, "What happened, Carl?" "I don't know. They came out of nowhere. There was no one. Then these men were here. They came--shooting." Blood came out of his mouth as he spoke. He tried to cough it away, and failed. His hand went to his mouth and wiped at the blood, then he lifted his hand to his eyes and saw what was there. "How many are there?" Zen asked. Carl's eyes wandered until he found the source of this question. "Dozens," he said, his voice dull. Blood was draining from his mouth across West's legs and was forming a pool on the floor. Listening, Zen could distinguish three machine guns going now. Men were yelling. A girl was screaming. At the sounds, the colonel's lips formed into a line as sharp as the edge of a knife. "How did they get past your fear generators?" he said to West. "I don't know," the craggy man answered. "Perhaps they found an unguarded tunnel." Zen could not see what difference it made how the intruders had secured entry. They were here. "Where are your weapons?" he demanded. In his mind was the thought that the new people would have weapons adequate to defend their own citadel. "Weapons?" West did not seem to understand the term. "We have none." "What?" Zen said. Hadn't West understood him. Every farmer, every rancher, and every householder had his stock of weapons. Almost all people went armed. "No rifles?" "No." "Not even tear gas?" "No, colonel." "Then how in the hell did you expect to stay alive?" Zen burst out. "You surely knew they would find you sometime." "Staying alive is actually not as important as you think. Yes, son." West bent again to listen to the youth's words. "Good--good--" The whisper was very faint. West understood. "Goodbye," he said. "We will meet again. But, goodbye for now." The youth sighed. All pain and all fear went from his face. Peace came to him. But when West rose to his feet, his face was bleak. "He was new here," he said as if this explained something that he felt needed explaining. Somewhere a woman was screaming. West listened to the sound, then started toward it. Zen caught his arm.