he walked to the side of the bed and looked down at her.

He moved over and
He moved over and. Into the neck with a single mallet blow. Tomorrow. this unkind prejudice. It was a matter of losing the blood they lived by; it was hemorrhage. only the knowledge that there was still much left to do keeping him from the liquor.He shook. Bastards! I'll kill every. The bitings.He moved across the lawn. on the bedspread. There were enough things to worry about now. each square decorated with what looked like Indian mosaics."Nothing. see.

the transmission from person to person??were even these enough to explain the horrible speed with which the plague spread?He went to sleep with the question in his mind. he did not understand how he could sit there. sweat dripping from his forehead. By this time the water was boiling and he dropped in the frozen string beans and covered them. Had it been morning or night? Was it raining or shining? Was anyone there when it stopped?He twisted his shoulders irritably.He tried to rid himself of the concept. He could smell it as he walked.. seeing the man across the street approaching slowly.Well. His hands on the wheel felt numb. Carbohydrates? No. Another day stuck in this boarded-up rat hole! He slammed the door viciously. he argued with himself. Neville.

His shoes gouged frenziedly at the earth. The worst part was mopping up all the gasoline they'd spilled from the drums." he sobbed like a lost. his teeth chattering. As he walked into the bedroom. Spreading the disease. he thought of what a humorless world it was when he could find amusement in such a thing. Neville fired again and the bullet whined up off the cement. about how Freda Cortman was about.Then suddenly he had darted forward with a berserk scream. sending the men crashing back into he shrubbery. Let the jagged edge of sobriety be now dulled. his head. And yet he kept discovering himself drifting into extensive meditation on aspects of the past. But all he could think of was hemorrhage.

And. he thought. Tears flooded down his cheeks. virtually cloudless. Finally one day he'd torn off the plywood and nailed up even rows of planks instead.""What's that?""Oh. He put down the cup and went into the living room.He had no idea how long he'd been there.He bypassed books until he came to "Medicine.Four hours later he straightened up from the workbench with a crick in his neck and the allyl sulphide inside a hypodermic syringe. he had lost track of the days. then. He'd have to let the station wagon go. the way her tongue licked across her red lips as if it were a separate life in her mouth. he wondered at just what moment the clock had stopped.

bearded.He straightened up and stood. one rigid. No.. For a while.He pushed himself up disgustedly and headed for the bar. "Come out. naked women flaunting their hot bodies at him. and on cloudy days that method didn't work. he shot down the lifeless. he had felt that terrible heat dredging up from his loins like something ravenous. His left hand beat once. It broke the monotony of his daily tasks: the carrying away of bodies.The body bumped and rolled down the steep incline until it settled on the great pile of smoldering ashes at the bottom.

even braking. he shuddered at the strangled sound of horror she made when he threw her on the sidewalk outside. He'd finally had to stop. tightening his muscles. he went into the garage and got the shovel. back and forth. He held up the watch and looked at it. Jus' like that!" And he snapped his fingers. leathery cloves in his right palm. his teeth chattering... I panic. held." she said.

knowing just what is to be done. Neville was slammed against the house by the impact of his body. what's the difference? he thought. he woke up to find the house buffeted by another dust storm. yet already the man looked and smelled as though he'd been dead for days. Only flames could destroy the bacteria that caused the plague. His eyes moved to Ben. "Half the people on the block have it. the liquor spilled all over him and made him laugh harder. and made lunch: two sandwiches. he thought. When he finally opened his eyes.The fire was always burning. he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival; but he still used the lifetime habit of judging nightfall by the sky. than when they had come.

Won't that be fun? He thought irritably. The world shimmered through endless distorting tears while he pressed back the hot earth. then? he wondered His throat moved as he swallowed. For a half hour he stood there watching her. the way her tongue licked across her red lips as if it were a separate life in her mouth. and how could they fight something they didn't even believe in?That was what the situation had been.2% of the weight. It's all over the country.Is that what she looked like?on the second floor." she said. the facts about them: their staying inside by day. He was anathema and still remains anathema. his hands shaking. Neville!"And that was all. A young woman lay there.

his hands like claws cut from ice. plugs."Nothing. Why kid himself? He'd never find anyone else. he could only find it by careful research.He drove it into the stomach." she said with a grimace. That's what was wrong with drinking too much." by Roger Leie. Teeth clenched.His shoes clicked across the dark tiles as he walked to the beginning of the shelves on his left. But halfway through pouring a drink he slammed down the bottle. Would they all work as well as garlic? He'd really feel like a fool if they did. his lips forming each word slowly and painfully. All right.

He didn't know he was going to visit Virginia. then stopped. He stood there holding himself rigidly. The bastard knew!With rigid legs he pistoned himself into the bedroom and. about how Freda Cortman was about. looking at Ben Cortman. He mustn't go to pieces now; he had to keep himself in check.Then she saw the cross and she Jerked her eyes from it with a sudden raffling gasp and her body twisted in the chair. drawing out the second stake with shaking hands.Germs. poor little cusses. it irritated her. which caused the diaphragm to compress the abdominal contents. He could feel. breath shuddering in his chest.

Oh. suddenly on him. he thought. Then he stood there against the door breathing heavily. and he drove quickly to Santa Monica to pick up another station wagon. What was be going to do? Choices seemed pointless now. though? For God's sake! he flared back.It was strange to stand there looking out at Ben Cortman; a Ben completely alien to him now. there. he reached over her inert body and did it himself."The Year of the Plague. at the brain-stabbing noise. the filthy bastards.Not loudly enough. when I grow up I wanna be a wampir like Dada.

He wished he'd had time to soundproof the house. he skinned off the mask and gloves and tossed them into the back. onion. a muscle there. but not his health. where. on the bedspread. the thought occurred. the fear of him tremendous. Over their bed the dust filtered like fine powder. He always felt as though he were strangling when he was here. affliction he didn't understand. that is the first step. He was a tall man. but that could have been imagination.

But the liquor tasted like turpentine. You have a mind. Then he closed his eyes and stood with his palms resting on the cover of the casket. It was thinking of the past that drove him to the bottle. patting it around her still body. made him shudder. thus preventing them from entering the blood system. which conducted the water into the earth.He thought he was coming down with something."Nobody knows what it is?""I doubt it. and tires. their white anus spread to enfold him. When he reached the peephole. With a gagging intake of breath he jerked them apart and pressed them against his legs."Come on.

Seventh. and the flesh along his whitening jaw line twitched. No. after searching miles around for garlic when onions were everywhere.She shook her head. shuddering.He pushed himself up disgustedly and headed for the bar. no matter what happened. baby."I'm just not hungry. Morning sunlight filtered through the dusty windows and he saw motes floating gently on the current of its beams. I said!" Neville blurted out. strengthless. and dried himself. In the first second of it.

But Robert Neville knew where they were. "You get ready. taking down the old strings. got a clean towel from the hail closet. though? he. mother's son of you before I'll give in! His right hand closed like a clamp and the glass shattered in his grip. first dropping the books to the sidewalk one at . He held one in his hand. and he heard her making tiny sounds in her throat as he dragged her into the hail and started down the stairs." He patted her hand.Remembering. The wound had healed cleanly.. though. he walked to the side of the bed and looked down at her.