First Man fell, mortally wounded. Blood gushed from his nostrils; he died.
And Jason Wall went on existing. He didn't understand. It made no sense. The death of First Man should have brought all humanity in all future ages to an instant, painless end.
A woman, he thought.
There must be a woman. Already with child, perhaps, and therefore, the mother of all the human race....
Jason Wall followed the forest trail, his revolver ready.
If the woman turned out to be as beautiful as the man had been handsome, Jason Wall would not relish his job. He'd always had a soft-spot, the one soft-spot in his makeup, for beautiful women.
He found her in a little clearing before a cave.
She was quite the loveliest creature he had ever seen. She was stark naked, and showed no fear when she saw him. She showed, instead, a lively curiosity. She jabbered and smiled at him and came to him, open-handed, interested, friendly.
I'll kill her, he told himself, when the pain is too bad, when I can't stand it any longer. She can't get away. She expects nothing, nothing. Meanwhile, he decided to spend the last months of his life with this woman....