"I can't take you any further until...."
"Until you know more about me?"
"In a way. They'll let me know."
Craig would have risked much to identify the "they" Phil referred to, but he did not ask the question. As he watched the boy preparing the dimly lit room for the night, he felt sure Phil could be trusted. He was almost frighteningly mature for his age.
The room was well hidden, for the once great library lay in a powdered ruin about it on all sides but a part of one. Only by accident or knowledge would a stranger recognize it in what was literally a world of rubble. During the moments of silence between the boy's volunteered statements, Craig tried to visualize the awful catastrophe that had befallen the old city. Piles of powdered masonry restricted his view greatly under the gathering night. He could see a scant city block through the window, but he knew the wreckage around them must extend for miles.
"You don't have to worry, mister...."
"Craig."
"Mr. Craig. They don't come in here at night."
"Radioactivity?"
"Yes. Not right here, but all around, everywhere."