"An armored car has just pulled up in front," she said. "They have set up machine guns on each corner of the b-block."
"Thorough devils," Holder commented.
"What's a devil, daddy?" Johnny asked.
"It's just a word," Holder answered.
Marie moved across the room to him. "John," she said. Then again, "John—"
"Don't be alarmed, darling," Holder said. "It's only death."
"It's only—" She sat down so quickly that he thought her legs had given way beneath her.
"That's only a word too," Holder said quickly.
"It—it—" Her lips twisted and a choking movement started in her throat. "How can you say it's only a word when it's the most real fact in our existence right now?"
"Is death a fact, or is it another human delusion?" the scientist asked.