Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 90: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DEATH DEFERRED fear and worry. Just death, utter, complete, restful death.” **No, Lorna! No!” She blinked, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time, and her yellowed, blood- streaked eyes held none of their former beauty. “Why, Jeff! I didn’t know that you were here. Where’s George ?”’ “Dead,” he snapped, bru- tally. ‘Outside somewhere, rotting among the stones. But we're alive, Lorna. Alive!”’ “You are, Jeff. I’m dead.” “No, Lorna. You can’t leave me now. Not after all I’ve done for you. Not after all the money I spent to save your life. You can’t die now. You mustn’t!’? He was bab- bling now, and hysteria had raised his voice until it quiv- ered on the thin edge of madness. “IT need you, Lorna. I can’t stay here all alone in the silence and the dark with you lying dead. I couldn’t stand it. Please, Lorna, you owe me too much to leave me now.” “T must.” “You can’t!” Desperately he gripped her thin shoulders. “T love you. I haven’t told you 89 that for a long time now, but it’s true. I love you. All I did was for you. I took you from the gutter and made a lady out of you. I built this shelter to save your life. You can’t die now, Lorna! You can’t!’ “Goodbye, Jeff.” *“No!” he screamed. “‘No!”’ Then because she didn’t obey and because she smiled at him, safe and secure in the fastness of her own secret knowledge, and because he feared the dark and the lone- liness and what he knew must be, he slapped her full across the cheek, hard, and the sound of the blow filled the shelter with the soggy impact of flesh on flesh. Still smiling, she fell back onto the bunk. He raved at her then, shouting and cursing, appeal- ing to her gratitude, her loyalty, her greed and am- bitions. He tried to force whisky between her lips, sat her up and slapped her again, striking the grey flesh until his fingers ached. She didn’t mind. She didn’t care what happened to her any more and she lay there, still smiling, the marks connicloooks.conn