and heal himself ...
he'll kill me. The world will never be warned of the invasion, then.
It's his life against the world; his life against a billion lives.

* * * * *

She lifted the tire iron. She averted her eyes as she got ready to swing
it savagely at his unprotected skull.

Cursing, the farmer reached out with his good hand and grabbed her
upraised wrist. "My God, what are you trying to do?"

"I've ... I've got to kill him."

The farmer stepped between her and Walt.

"I've got to."

"Not while I'm here, Miss, you don't."

"Listen--!" she began. Then hopelessly, she let the arm holding the tire
iron fall limply to her side. He wouldn't believe me if I told him, she
thought.

Nobody will believe me; not a person on the planet. It's too fantastic:
an invasion of earth. I've got to have some sort of proof to make them
believe me.

No proof.

_I can't let Walt die!_ she thought. He's the only proof I have. He's
the only one who can convince anyone of the invasion.

He's got to live! she thought. I've got to get him to a hospital.

Walt's face was bloodless.

"... he's dying," the farmer said.

"But he can't die!" Julia cried desperately. "He can't die!"

"You're crazy," the farmer said evenly. "First you get ready to brain
him with a tire iron and then you say he's got to live. Lady, if I
hadn't stopped you when I did, he'd be dead as hell right now."

"I wasn't thinking; I didn't realize...."

Breath rattled in Walt's throat.

"Gas ... I'm out of gas," Julia said.

She ran to the wrecked truck. She jerked a milk can upright. She
unscrewed the cap and emptied milk on the pavement.

With the tire iron she split the gas tank and caught as much of the
sharp-smelling fluid as she could in the emptied can.

It sloshed loudly as she raced to her car with it. She fumbled the gas
tank cap off. She was trembling so badly that she spilled almost as much
as she poured into the opening. When the gas was all gone, she threw the
milk can from her.

"I'll back up!" she cried to the farmer. "You'll have to help me get him
into the back seat."

He's _got_ to live, Julia thought. If the doctors can just bring him to
consciousness, he can heal himself. When he realizes I've saved his
life, maybe he'll listen to me. He's got to listen. I'll convince him,
I'll reason with him. He'll be able to prove to everybody that there
will be an invasion. When they see all the things he c