William was not, in fact, a junkie,
though he came as close to the line without crossing it as any human
being ever could. But for Kathy's sake he gave up hard drugs almost
completely, finding that with her he no longer needed the barbiturates
to sleep, injected amphetamines to feel alive in the night, or alcohol
to keep the spiritual agony from killing him. Without the world's
help, or even its consent, he pulled himself and his young woman up out
of the gutter, and as she had done for him, gave them both a reason to
live.
But then Armageddon had come, oblivious to his, and everyone's,
agonies and ecstasies, bitter triumphs and long defeats. The War, that
had been building for centuries from Man's ignorance, and inability
to overcome his instinct for violence, finally broke out. The satellite
lasers had protected the City for a time, keeping the first wave of
missiles off them, for perhaps an hour. But it didn't take a genius
to know that New York's famous minutes were numbered.
So through the crash of panic-stricken people, trying to evacuate or
merely crying, 'Oh, my God!' while still others who had not seen
or heard the broadcasts stood about in a daze and tried to understand
what was happening, William took Kathy and sought out his friend,
Dr.
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