Lowell Stone

“ There were several million soldiers protecting many millions of people and the only way that Mildred and Billy could be protected was through the combined and strategic effort of these soldiers. There were soldiers in the interior risking their lives to protect people like Mildred and Billy—soldiers with relatives in the city that Jerry was supposed to protect. It would be a sorry plight if, at the first sign of trouble, all the men would run home to their own little families. ”

“ Here he was, Jerry thought, asking about the six men in the gun crew when there must have been thousands—maybe millions—dead in the city, or what must be left of it.
"There's just three of us alive so far," Peterman said. ”

“ I'm in no position to give it much thought."
"But don't you think this is stupid to wait for certain death when there's no hope—when I've got the chance to see the ones I love, maybe for the last time?"
"It's stupid all right I guess."
"You've got loved ones, haven't you, Peterman? You know how much it means?" Peterman clammed and refused to talk.
Jerry went to the storage which was built into the side of the concrete wall, opened the door, and brought out his rifle. He examined the automatic weapon and found it undamaged. He looked around. ”

“ I hate to think about it."
"If there is anything left, the rocket planes will bring 'em down."
"What rocket planes?"
"Can't you hear 'em? That roar in the air. It almost drowns out the geiger meter on my suit."
"Naw, Conlon, that isn't what you think! You're still hearing the sound of the blast."
"After this long?"
"It doesn't die out for a long time."
Jerry thought about Mildred and Billy. It was this bad even in a radiation suit with special lenses to protect the eyes; special braces to minimize the shock wave effects ”

“ He kept the rifle pointed at the motionless, watching men. The roar became louder.
Lieutenant Blake called up to him. "You're from the inland area, aren't you, Conlon? I think the chances for your family were pretty good. Emergency stations are starting to come through from the interior. The guided missiles had a lot of near-misses."
Out of the corners of Jerry's eyes he detected a strange looking dark cloud appearing along the horizon. From the west, not the east! That was odd. The dark cloud spread across the horizon, coming closer. Rocket planes! Hundreds of them! ”

“ The biggest chunks had either been completely disintegrated or splattered along the ground in all directions from the target area. It had been a direct hit. It only took one blast, but that didn't mean it was the only one in the country. When the attack came, every big city had probably been marked for destruction. ”