present " 'Sure it is," the ground agreed ' I can tell you where those footprints are straight north '
"Which way is north'
ZOMBIE LOVER 75
"Toward the blue "
Bink looked around The air seemed to be bluer in one direction, and redder in the other Cold north and warm south All right
They walked north In a moment the hawk moth descended It landed, and Dolph reappeared "You're going the right way," he said "I saw a trail of footprints there "
"We are on our way," Bink agreed
"I also thought I saw something following us, but I couldn't make it out''
"How could anything be following us9" Dor asked a bit sharply "We are in a dream, and on a unique world "
"Maybe a creature of this world," Dor said uncertainly "But maybe I just imagined it "
"We'll keep alert," Dor said "Just in case "
That made sense But privately Bink wondered Dolph had his juvenile confusions, but paranoia wasn't one of them They didn't know what kinds of predators this world had So he decided to hang back a bit, so that if anything came on them from behind, he would be the first one it encountered It wouldn't be able to hurt him, and the effort might give warning for the others They had been assured that they couldn't really be hurt while in this dream, but if they got sufficiently messed up, they would be forced to wake up and lose their place here
Soon they found the trail glowing footprints headed west That meant toward the future, assuming that made sense
"Say," Dolph said "It's green that way " He looked back "And yellow to the east''
They checked Again Dolph's younger nature had picked up on something the elders had missed So they couldn't get confused about whether they were traveling into the future or the past, the colors ahead would warn them That struck Bink as a nice feature of this world
They followed the prints, which seemed to know where they were going They led past a small village There was a gnome working outside his house "Hello, hello, it's great to see you'" the gnome exclaimed in friendly fashion "Haven't we met before9"
"I don't think so," Bink replied, as he happened to be closest "I am Bink Who are you'"
"Well "
76 PIERS ANTHONY
44 What?"
"No. Well. That's my name. Everyone knows me."
"Gnome Well," a nearby rock said helpfully.
Another gnome emerged from the house. "And this is my neighbor Metro," Well said. "Metro Gnome keeps track of ticks and locks."
"That seems useful," Bink agreed. He knew that ticks could be real mischief if not supervised. A friend had once eaten an emi tick by accident, and gotten really sick. Another had been bitten by a psycho-tic, and gone crazy. A third had run afoul of a spasmo tic, and convulsed. "What ticks are you watching now?"
"A group of across ticks," Metro answered. "They are useful for word puzzles. Do you need any?"
"Not at the moment, thank you."
"So can I help you with anything?" Well inquired, in the manner of an old friend.
"We're just following these footprints."
The gnome looked. "What prints?"
So it was true: others could not see them. "Magical prints that only we can see," Bink explained.
"Well, I wouldn't recommend going that way," Gnome said. "There's a bad comic strip, and beyond it is only old age."
"We can handle it," Bink assured him.
"You must love punishment. I couldn't stand it."
"What's so bad about a comic strip?" Dolph asked.
Both gnomes rolled their eyes. "You're new here," Metro said.
"Maybe some things you just have to learn for yourselves," Well said.
They went on, and came to the edge of what seemed to be the comic strip. Beyond it things looked wild indeed. But the footprints went there, so they followed.
When they stepped across, they found themselves on a path labeled PSYCHO. They followed the prints along it. It wound crazily around, seeming to go nowhere
"Which way is north'
ZOMBIE LOVER 75
"Toward the blue "
Bink looked around The air seemed to be bluer in one direction, and redder in the other Cold north and warm south All right
They walked north In a moment the hawk moth descended It landed, and Dolph reappeared "You're going the right way," he said "I saw a trail of footprints there "
"We are on our way," Bink agreed
"I also thought I saw something following us, but I couldn't make it out''
"How could anything be following us9" Dor asked a bit sharply "We are in a dream, and on a unique world "
"Maybe a creature of this world," Dor said uncertainly "But maybe I just imagined it "
"We'll keep alert," Dor said "Just in case "
That made sense But privately Bink wondered Dolph had his juvenile confusions, but paranoia wasn't one of them They didn't know what kinds of predators this world had So he decided to hang back a bit, so that if anything came on them from behind, he would be the first one it encountered It wouldn't be able to hurt him, and the effort might give warning for the others They had been assured that they couldn't really be hurt while in this dream, but if they got sufficiently messed up, they would be forced to wake up and lose their place here
Soon they found the trail glowing footprints headed west That meant toward the future, assuming that made sense
"Say," Dolph said "It's green that way " He looked back "And yellow to the east''
They checked Again Dolph's younger nature had picked up on something the elders had missed So they couldn't get confused about whether they were traveling into the future or the past, the colors ahead would warn them That struck Bink as a nice feature of this world
They followed the prints, which seemed to know where they were going They led past a small village There was a gnome working outside his house "Hello, hello, it's great to see you'" the gnome exclaimed in friendly fashion "Haven't we met before9"
"I don't think so," Bink replied, as he happened to be closest "I am Bink Who are you'"
"Well "
76 PIERS ANTHONY
44 What?"
"No. Well. That's my name. Everyone knows me."
"Gnome Well," a nearby rock said helpfully.
Another gnome emerged from the house. "And this is my neighbor Metro," Well said. "Metro Gnome keeps track of ticks and locks."
"That seems useful," Bink agreed. He knew that ticks could be real mischief if not supervised. A friend had once eaten an emi tick by accident, and gotten really sick. Another had been bitten by a psycho-tic, and gone crazy. A third had run afoul of a spasmo tic, and convulsed. "What ticks are you watching now?"
"A group of across ticks," Metro answered. "They are useful for word puzzles. Do you need any?"
"Not at the moment, thank you."
"So can I help you with anything?" Well inquired, in the manner of an old friend.
"We're just following these footprints."
The gnome looked. "What prints?"
So it was true: others could not see them. "Magical prints that only we can see," Bink explained.
"Well, I wouldn't recommend going that way," Gnome said. "There's a bad comic strip, and beyond it is only old age."
"We can handle it," Bink assured him.
"You must love punishment. I couldn't stand it."
"What's so bad about a comic strip?" Dolph asked.
Both gnomes rolled their eyes. "You're new here," Metro said.
"Maybe some things you just have to learn for yourselves," Well said.
They went on, and came to the edge of what seemed to be the comic strip. Beyond it things looked wild indeed. But the footprints went there, so they followed.
When they stepped across, they found themselves on a path labeled PSYCHO. They followed the prints along it. It wound crazily around, seeming to go nowhere
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